Brief storm brings new fires; little relief
By Kyra Hoggan
A short storm this evening that many hoped would bring relief to fire ravaged local forests has done more harm than good, according to Southeast Fire Centre information officer Jordan Turner, who said there are four more fires reported in the greater Castlegar area, with more likely to follow.
“There are a few fires around the area because of the lightning storm that came through,” he said. “This was what we would call ‘dry lightning’, because it didn’t bring enough rain to saturate the fuels, but we did see a lot of lightning strikes.”
Three fires are currently burning across the lake from Deer Park, each under a hectare in size, all of which were beign attacked by choppers and a bomber.
Another fire, about 10 km west of Castlegar and 4 1/2 km south of Highway 3, is also a spot fire (less than one hectare), and not threatening any homes/structures or infrastructure.
Due to the nature of the storm and the time it takes for strikes to smoulder sometimes, though, Turner said they are expecting more small fires to be reported as a result of this storm in the days to come.
