Peachland Fire Contained

By Dave Preston - Special To Castanet

A forest fire that started some time before 9 a.m. this day just south of the District of Peachland boundary has been contained.

Smoke was clearly visible rising out of a heavily forested area above Hwy. 97, on the south flank of the Deep Creek Valley.

Peachland Fire and Rescue Service responded immediately with four trucks and about a dozen firefighters. The fire department called in the Ministry of Forests as the fire was outside district boundaries.

The ministry responded with more than a dozen firefighters, several pieces of heavy equipment and three helicopters (two bucketing, one transport). A ministry spokesman on the scene said water bomber aircraft were also called in but they were called off when an assessment of the fire showed it could be contained relatively easily.

Although the amount of smoke visible made it look like a fairly large fire, the ministry spokesman estimated the size at 0.1 to 0.2 hectares in size.

The fire was brought under control in about an hour. Luckily, Log Chute Drive, an old logging road, led to the site, enabling firefighters and equipment to access the scene.

Ministry firefighters will be on scene all day mopping up the fire. Although no cause was stated, the ministry spokesman said it was definitely human caused.