Highlands Fire Department responded to its first wildfire of the season on Wednesday.
The department, located north of Millstream, sent eight firefighters to a small brush fire Wednesday morning.
While chief Dean Ford said the crew isn’t sure how the blaze started, dry conditions likely played a role.
READ ALSO: Dry March sparks fire concerns
READ ALSO: 2018 now B.C.’s worst wildfire season
“Generally we don’t see much in the way [of wildfires] until late April [or] beginning of May,” he said. “This is a little earlier than normal.”
Unable to bring fire trucks into the area, the department used a vehicle with four wheel drive to shuttle in water. And of course, the rain helped too.
“Thankfully we had a bit of rain so the fire didn’t get too far out of control,” he added. “Yesterday would have been a different story.”
Ford said crews are constantly training and preparing for wildfire season – an inevitable reality of summertime that crews around B.C. are gearing up for, especially after the second driest March in the region’s history.
nina.grossman@blackpress.ca
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
