Firefighters continue to battle a 73-hectare wildfire on Mount Hayes, northwest of Ladysmith.
“There’s a lot of heat in there so we’re not changing [its status] over to under control yet,” Gordon Robinson, Coastal Fire Information Officer, said Tuesday.
The fire has burned deep into the ground because of the dry conditions and the heavy slash. Firefighters are still removing forest fuel. They’re using hand tools to dig out hot spots and wet down the earth to remove the remaining heat from the fire.
The wildfire prompted a local state of emergency. Twenty properties on Takala, David and Ivey roads remain on evacuation alert. However, evacuation orders for the Fortis B.C. liquified natural gas plant and the Bush Creek Fish Hatchery were been downgraded to evacuation alerts over the weekend.
It’s not expected to be smoky in Ladysmith today, said Robinson. The fire is not putting out a lot of smoke. But the forecast for Wednesday is calling for a bit of wind.
“If we do get some higher winds tomorrow that’s when we might see some more smoke from the unburned fuel within the perimeter,” said Robinson.
He emphasized the importance of observing campfire bans. The Conservation Officer Service received more than 20 reports of campfires this weekend, he said.
“The fire danger rating on the Island is extreme. It’s a really dangerous thing to be doing right now. We’re nowhere close to taking those fire bans off. This fire is a perfect example of how fast these things can go,” said Robinson.
ldickson@timescolonist.com
