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Ootischenia Fire Dept extinguishes lightning-caused wildfire after today's storm

Castlegar Source
By Castlegar Source
July 27th, 2016

An observant driver may have saved Castlegar a world of hassle by spotting a lightning-caused fire Tuesday afternoon and calling it in before it could get out of control, according to Ootischenia Fire Department deputy chief Len Coates.

He said it was about half-a-kilometre up the hill and in the woods, behind the storage facility on the Highway 3 (heading toward Grand Forks) across from the propane filling station.

The call came in at roughly 3 p.m.

“Both Engine and Tender responded with a total of 12 firefighters,” he said, explaining the fire was just starting to flare up, and was only about six to eight feet at that point. “Water packs, poleaskis and shovels were used to contain and extinguish the fire.”

He offered sincere thanks to the diligent motorist who called in the fire, allowing for a quick response to the incident.

“If the driver hadn’t called it in, it coud’ve gotten very bad, especially given how close (to the city) it was,” he said.

In this case, the caller dialed 9-1-1, but to report a wildfire, you can also call 1 800 663-5555 or *5555 from a cell phone.

This post was syndicated from https://castlegarsource.com
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