Rainy weather over the past few days has helped forest-fire crews around B.C., including those at the Lizard Lake fire near Port Renfrew.
The human-caused fire has been burning for close to three weeks about 11.5 kilometres northeast of Port Renfrew and 27 km southwest of the Town of Lake Cowichan. The Pacific Marine Road between the two communities was closed as a result of the fire, but reopened last week.
The rain has helped get the fire to a point where it is 90 per cent contained, said Donna MacPherson, a fire information officer with the Coastal Fire Centre.
“It certainly helped,” she said. “It meant the crews could make better progress.”
MacPherson said containment is reached in an area when firefighters believe the fire can’t get past an established “control line.”
“It will still continue to burn in the middle,” she said. “On large fires that’s common.”
There were 33 firefighters and two pieces of heavy equipment working on the fire Monday, she said. The blaze was covering 393 hectares.
Also on Vancouver Island, the Dog Mountain fire near Sproat Lake — another human-caused blaze — continues to cover 50 hectares, but is 100 per cent contained and is being allowed to burn. The fire started July 4.
Around B.C., 169 forest fires were burning Monday, with the majority of them caused by lightning.
Rain will continue to fall over the next few days, said Environment Canada meteorologist Matt MacDonald. He said the Port Renfrew area was expected to receive 10 to 15 millimetres Monday, similar to the forecast for Victoria.
Daily high temperatures in Victoria over the next few days are forecast to be 17, below the normal of 21.
“It’s a pretty drastic change in the weather pattern, obviously,” MacDonald said. He said sunny weather should return on the weekend.
