Fire department put to the test

The following statement was issued to the media by Kelowna Assistant Fire Chief, Brian Collier Friday morning.

The Kelowna Fire Department has been put to the test Thursday evening with human caused bush fires.

The first at 5:27 p.m. was in Mission Creek Park off of the Ziprick entrance. This 75’ x 75’ fire on the side of the creek bank was caused by someone with a BBQ metres off of the trail.

The second at 6:25 p.m. in the Belgo area was again human caused and grew to 100 metres by 200 metres. This fire required the help of a BCFS helicopter with a water bucket to contain. All available resources and personnel were used in both events. We will be working on the fire first thing in the morning to mop up the area.

At 9:25 p.m. we also responded to a bush fire in the Knox Mountain Park. This fire remained small.

The public must be diligent about the condition of the forest area in and around our City. With the hot weather and minimal moisture we are in a High to Extreme Fire Danger Rating, already this year. There is a camp fire advisory in place for areas lower than 1,000 metres.

No open burning is allowed in the City and those that disregard the Bylaw will be subject to a fine and or the cost of suppression. Anyone with information regarding the cause of these or other fires should contact the local RCMP or Fire Department.