Vernon Fire Rescue were kept busy Thursday afternoon, responding to back-to-back fires at the oppsite ends of town.

Fire Chief David Lind said crews were originally called to a grassfire near Predator Ridge in the early afternoon.

That fire was quickly brought under control, before they were called to the Foothills off Silver Star Road for a brush fire.

Lind said the fire on Whistler Place in the Foothills started in some shrubs near several homes.

“Some of the neighbours were able to grab some garden hoses and help suppress the fire,” said Lind from the scene just after 2 p.m.

Lind said there was some concern for homes that were mere metres from the burning bush, but the homes were not threatened.

The dual fires stretched the abilities of the fire crews.

“Our crews were deployed out by Predator Ridge and our resources were at the far end of our area,” said Lind. “The BX/Swan Lake Fire Department responded (to the Foothills) as well and they arrived at the same time as our resources.”

Lind said crews had a longer-than-usual response time and praised area residents to tackling the blaze while crews were en route.

“The homeowners were pretty much able to suppress the fire before fire crews arrived. They did a great job.”

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

A grass fire is burning just off Silver Star Road, in the Foothills neighbourhood.

It appears the fire may have started near a home overlooking the sweeping corner overlooking Vernon, just below the Foothills area.

Details are few at this time.

Castanet will update this story as more information becomes available.

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