A rogue campfire is at the top of the list of culprits in a midday fire that grew to a 20- by 70-foot blaze along the northern edge of Comox Lake in an ecological reserve area Wednesday.
A helicopter confirmed the nature of the fire just outside of Cumberland's boundary and a Coastal Fire Service crew arrived to quell the flames.
"It's gonna stay small," said Cpt. Jesse French, of the Cumberland Fire Department, which assisted the Ministry of Forests firefighters on the front lines around 3:30 p.m. "It's under control."
Officials were alerted to the blaze just after noon Wednesday.
Luckily for residents in the area, the vegetation where the fire erupted consists mainly of lichen and moss, with the odd shrub growing out of the rock.
Generators were brought on site to pump water on the flames emerging from the side of a cliff.
The land is a former TimberWest parcel which has been set aside for conservation purposes.
Using a fire boat, Cumberland Fire officials worked to provide supplies to Coastal Fire Service crews throughout the afternoon as water vapour and smoke snaked upwards in a small trail under the blue sky.
This is the first Comox Lake wildfire of the season.
