Fire crews chase multiple grass fires along highway

Columbia Valley Pioneer staff

Last Friday night was a hectic one for fire crews who found themselves chasing many grass fires along the highway north of Windermere.

Columbia Valley Rural Fire & Rescue Deputy Chief Jon Tames said eight to 14 fires were burning over a two-kilometre distance.

“Extremely grateful” were the words he used to describe the help from Shuswap Band, the general public, and other response agencies.

Nine crew members and four pieces of apparatus from the Windermere Fire Department responded to the call on May 31 near North Subdivision Road just after 8:30 p.m. and remained on site until the fires were fully extinguished. Radium firefighters responded and patrolled the highway for additional fires, and three RCMP officers also attended the scene.

Since no evidence pointed to a cause, this led fire officials to think the incidents were suspicious, but the exact cause is still unknown. However, the RCMP say there was no evidence to suggest the fires were deliberately set.

Anyone with information or who may have seen unusual activity alongside the highway during the early evening on Friday is asked to contact the RCMP.

“To every single person who responded and helped, thank you,” Tames said. “Although we’ve had cooler temperatures and a bit of moisture of late, with this many fires stretched across such a wide area, it very easily could have become a much more serious situation.”

Tames noted that everyone’s actions made a big difference.