By Dominic Abassi

Nanaimo Lakes fire now ‘held,’ crews begin mop-up work

Aug 15, 2018 | 4:28 PM

NANAIMO — After an 11-day battle with one of the largest fires in our region in recent memory, the BC Wildfire Service has reported another victory on the Nanaimo Lakes fire.

Fire information officer Dorthe Jakobsen said the status of the 450-acre (182 ha) fire is now held, meaning it is unlikely to spread.

She said once a fire moves to the held stage they stop measuring containment. The next status will be under control, at which point the fire would be considered 100 per cent contained.

Jakobsen said crews still have several weeks of painstaking work ahead.

“They will be walking the ground and digging down deep and checking out hot spots and putting them out. Long, laborious, tiring work and it’s going to take a few weeks still to get through all of that mop-up.”

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The Nanaimo Lakes blaze was first reported on Aug. 5 at just five-acres. It quickly exploded in size, becoming what Jakobsen described as “one of the larger ones” on Vancouver Island this season.

“Suppression activities and the strategies worked well, the crews worked hard. Progress was made quickly so it’s a good example of a success story.”

The fire is believed to be person-caused, however Jakobsen said it could take months to figure out exactly how it started.

An evacuation alert was issued on Aug. 6 for 77 homes east of the fire and was not rescinded until Aug. 11. Campers at Nanaimo Lakes were evacuated shortly after it broke out and an area west of the fire, mainly consisting of people camping in the bush, was ordered cleared out as well.

The effort to battle the fire did claim the life of one man.

A man later identified by family as Darrell Drake was found dead of suspected natural causes in a vehicle near the fire scene on Aug. 6. He was working for a contractor of TimberWest assisting firefighters.

Although some road closures will remain in effect while crews complete mop-up work, pilot cars are on Nanaimo River Rd. to escort traffic through and Jakobsen said people can access the area if they like.

“Be careful when you’re out there, respect the fire ban, respect the fact there are crews working out there. Be very careful not to start any fires,” she said.

As of Wednesday afternoon there were more than 40 fires burning on Vancouver Island, the majority on the north island. Jakobsen said they have had 120 person-caused fires since April 1 within the Coastal Fire Centre. She said in the last week of July, 17 tickets and 42 reports were issued for contravening the fire ban.

dom@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @domabassi