Crews handle fire on isolated, heavily-forested Mudge Island
NANAIMO — A small person-caused fired on Mudge Island shows the danger faced by sparely populated, heavily forested islands during the hot summer season.
The Coastal Fire Centre confirmed a fire started Wednesday morning on Mudge Island, which is off the coast of Gabriola Island near Cedar and has roughly 60 full-time residents.
Dorothe Jakobsen with the Centre said it was a small fire which started in a structure and spread to the dry grass. Helicopters were brought in to douse the blaze before it got out of hand. Volunteer firefighters on the island also assisted with the initial response.
It was considered contained a few hours after the smoke caught the attention of many island residents and reportedly out by 2 p.m.