A small fire burning near Hosmer has been extinguished, thanks to efforts from the local fire department and B.C Wildfire Service.
A grass fire started near the Hosmer bridge in the afternoon on April 18. It was small initally, but spread quickly with the windy weather conditions, causing the surrounding timber to go up in flames.
Six firefighters and four pieces of equipment from the Hosmer Fire Department were on scene. The team worked diligently on the fire and the incident was eventually transferred to B.C Wildfire Service.
“At this time of year, fires can easily get into the dead, dry grass from the fall and expand quickly and unpredictably,” remarked Elk Valley and South Country Rural Fire and Rescue Chief Michael Hockley in a media release.
“We cannot stress enough how important it is to ensure you use extreme caution when doing outdoor burning and choose to burn in safe conditions when the forecast is calling for calm winds throughout the burning period. Further, you must have a water source and tools on hand no matter how small the fire is.”
This was the third grass fire in the region in just over two weeks that fire crews with Regional District of East Kootenay have responded to.