More flame than smoke

Photo: Nicholas Johansen - Castanet File Photo

Residents living around the area of the Shelter Cove fire are being told not to worry after some reported seeing open flames, Wednesday.

The Wildfire Management Branch is conducting proactive burning operations within the fire zone in an effort to burn off unburned fuels.

Fire information officer Kelsey Winter said the amount of flame or smoke is dependent on the fuel behaviour.

"We had that little bit of precipitation which has knocked back the dry, upper layers of fuel. When we do a burn-off like we are trying to do today to eliminate those pockets of fuel, it's going to be a little bit drier, so there will be more flame and it will get up into the trees," said Winter.

"If you have fire burning in something that has already seen fire come through, then you'll mostly see smoke because it's partial combustion and not full combustion."

Winter expects the burning operation to last three or four days. They will shut down the operation if winds start blowing toward residential areas.

She added the burn off is designed to eliminate as much fuel as possible to prevent possible re-ignition.

"For a fire as big as this one, it's really hard to get full extinguishment of the whole 560 hectares. It's difficult to get into the deep layers where fire can smoulder. So, we do the burn off to eliminate all that fuel," said Winter.

"As we head into another period of hot and dry weather and the fuels dry off again, those embers that have been burning can pick up. And, if there is fuel available, we will be back to active fire behaviour."