Fires spread in Canada
Copyright 2001
United Press International
August 16, 2001
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 16 - A big forest fire raging near Princeton, British Columbia, since the weekend has tripled in size over the past two days and firefighters are battling rugged terrain along with the blaze.
The fire is one of hundreds that have been burning in several Canadian provinces, including Ontario, during the driest summer the country has seen in 40 years.
Cathi Piazza, of the British Columbia fire service, said Thursday that the blaze outside Princeton so far has scorched 3,200 acres (1,300 hectares) of timber and was one of more than 100 forest fires still burning in the province.
Residents were not immediately threatened, she said, as the wind was blowing the fire in the other direction. and it was now some 15 miles (25 km) from the town.
Some 250 firefighters, including 90 from Manitoba and Saskatchewan, were fighting the blaze, which was moving southward, but was nowhere near the U.S. border just yet, Piazza said.
The fire began Saturday in a mobile home parked near a highway, spread quickly to nearby trees, and climbed up a rugged mountain slope where fire crews found it difficult to take heavy equipment. The firefighters are using water bombers and helicopters, besides ground equipment, to fight it, but by Wednesday night the blaze grew large enough to jump across treetops.
Piazza said most of the fires burning in British Columbia were sparked by lightning in tinder-dry conditions.
Weather forecasts have not been promising. "We don't think it's going to be over any time soon," Piazza said.
In Ontario, crews have been in a similar fight over the past few days, with nearly 1,000 firefighters involved when the crisis peaked this week. Provincial fire service spokesman Len Munro said 50 helicopters and 18 water bombers were involved in putting out several stubborn fires, including one near Sudbury, about 500 miles (800 km) northwest of Toronto.
"We've had more than 500 fires since July 24," after six weeks of dry conditions withered the brush, Munro said. Things were now starting to ease after some light rain, but "we still have 64 fires burning," and fire crews were keeping their fingers crossed. A high-pressure ridge was moving into the area on the weekend and could mean a return of hot, dry conditions.
At the peak of the battle, the Ontario firefighters got help from crews sent over from British Columbia, Yukon Territory, Northwest Territories, Manitoba and Wisconsin.
In areas where the fires have been put out, the forests were still smoldering. Many of the fires had burned to a depth of some three feet, Munro said. There was still a danger of outbreaks caused by ground fires. Experts were examining the areas with infrared scanners to make sure the ground fires have been completely doused.