Crews continue to handle minor hot spots on the Mt. Hayes wildfire, southwest of Nanaimo Airport. The fire burned over 60 hectares of land. (BC Wildfire Service)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

forest fire update

Mt. Hayes wildfire considered under control, crews dousing hot spots

Sep 2, 2021 | 5:33 AM

NANAIMO — BC Wildfire Service (BCWFS) personnel are mopping up the site of a once fast-growing fire northwest of Ladysmith.

The BCWFS recently downgraded the 61.5 hectare Mt. Hayes wildfire from being held to under control, nearly two weeks after the fire was first discovered.

The Coastal Fire Centre’s Julia Caranci told NanaimoNewsNOW, 26 of their fire fighters remain on scene ensuring hot spots are cooled down.

“Crews are continuing to make really good progress with that. The patrolling and extinguishing of any area that contains heat is the objective right now.”

Continually digging up the earth is required due to deep burns well beneath the forest floor, Caranci said.

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“It’s turning up the earth wherever there is a hot spot, even feeling with your hands and then dousing that with water.”

The Mt. Hayes wildfire was remapped at roughly 10 hectares smaller once on-ground assessments were made.

Caranci credited the public for quickly reporting the fire on Aug. 19, allowing resources to quickly attack it.

“We did have very good resourcing on the fire as well as excellent support from the support, the helicopter bucketing of course makes a great difference as well.”

As many as 60 firefighters fought the fire, which ballooned from a small spot fire to 20 hectares later the same evening, sending thick columns of black smoke into the air.

Despite rapid growth, the fire was categorized as being held by Monday, Aug. 23 when the fire was described as a smouldering ground fire.

The fire’s lone evacuation order impacted Fortis BC’s liquefied natural gas plant, while evacuation alerts were issued for 20 rural properties by the Cowichan Valley and Nanaimo regional districts.

The cause of the fire 4.5 kilometers northwest of Ladysmith remains unknown.

Most of the mid island region remains under an extreme wildfire threat, according to the BCWFS.

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