Firefighters are trying to put out a one-hectare fire in the forest in the Nanaimo Lakes area.
A human-caused fire southwest of Nanaimo in the area of Blackjack Forest Service Road, originally thought to be 0.3 hectares, is now considered three times that size.
“Crews were on it last night, worked it till about 1 a.m. and then went home. They got it somewhat contained, they got water on it, then we had crews out here first thing this morning,” said Morgan Boghean, incident commander with the Coastal Fire Centre.
He said there are roads on either side of the fire allowing firefighters access.
“Crews are focusing on [the fire] not getting into other cut blocks in the areas, so we have crews working at both flanks working to contain it,” said Boghean.
Donna MacPherson, fire information officer with the Coastal Fire Centre, said there were 15 firefighters, an excavator, water tender and helicopter at the location.
“It was reported late last night and we responded last night, but we’re going back today … to work toward control on that fire…” she said. “We’ve got a lot of resources on it to work toward a good conclusion,” she said.
This article will be updated.