By Don Sharpe, Holiday Trails RV Resorts
HOPE, BC
It’s a scary thing to hear that there is a forest fire burning just up the road from you and the business you are operating may be at risk. On July 30 at about 5 pm that is what Joanne Taylor, Manager at Sunshine Valley RV Resort was hearing. “We could hear the fire trucks going out and wondered if there was a fire close by”. The news quickly spread that there was a fire about 4 km away. The Sunshine Valley Volunteer Fire Department (SVVFD) got the call at 5:04 and were on scene at 5:12 pm with two engines, a water tender and ten firefighters at the location close to the Hope Slide. Ministry of Forests arrived on scene shortly afterwards with six crew and two helicopters.
The helicopters drew water from Cedar Lake which is close to the mountain community. SVVFD and Forestry worked together to contain the fire with the ongoing bucketing operations by the helicopters. The RV Resort, which has its own water system, also supplied water to the Ministry fire trucks and the Volunteer fire trucks. The water source, part of an onsite water plant, was untreated and stored water which proved to be invaluable in dousing the flames as it significantly cut time getting water to the burn site.
The quick response by SVVFD and Ministry of Forests along with light winds saved the day. At about 6:30 pm the SSVFD engines and water tender were released from the scene while the forestry crew continued with mop up. Wildland firefighters will return tomorrow to check for any hotspots.
Chris Terry, LAFC is the Fire Chief for the SSVFD. He states; “Sunshine Valley should be proud of their firefighters for the quick response and skill in containing this blaze. As Chief I am extremely proud of the team.”
The fire started at the roadside and quickly moved upwards. While it could have been much worse it ended up burning .1 hectares of forested land and destroyed a building close to the Atlantis gravel pit. The assumption at this time is that a cigarette butt thrown from a car window was the cause of the fire
It is a harsh reminder to not throw cigarette butts out of a moving vehicle. The ramifications can be immense.
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Holiday Trails RV Resorts
Sunshine Valley RV Resort staff loading the rescue truck with water from it’s plant.
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Coast Fire Centre trucks staging at Sunshine Valley RV Resort
http://www.holidaytrailsresorts.com/
Don Sharpe
604.819.0262