Campers, a forest company driver, Mounties and the Coastal Fire Centre all worked together this week to extinguish a blaze that spread into the forest after a truck flipped onto its side and caught fire on the Brewster Lake forest service road outside Campbell River.
The passenger in the truck was take to the Campbell River hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.
Police are thanking everyone who chipped in to help.
It was the third fire on a forest service road in three weeks, police said.
In this case, a mechanical problem caused the truck, which had been on its way to Campbell River, to flip onto its side, RCMP said in a statement.
A report of a vehicle fully engulfed in fire was called in to police on July 25 at 11:25 p.m. The RCMP notified the Coastal Fire Centre and headed to the fire.
The first officer was at the scene at 11:47 p.m. and used up the contents of his fire extinguishers to attack the blaze, which had spread into the woods. He worked to create a fire line to block the blaze.
A second officer arrived with additional extinguishers, which police used to stop the fire’s spread.
Two volunteers showed up with a fire blanket, used to put out fires by depriving them off oxygen.
A forest company water truck was next on the scene. The driver of the burning truck left the site to get the water truck, RCMP said.
Nearby campers from Big Bay and police officers handled the water truck’s hose and were able to put out most of the fire.
Coastal Fire Centre workers arrived and mopped up what remained. The smouldering truck was towed away.
cjwilson@timescolonist.com
