Richmond fire close to 100 per cent contained: city

RICHMOND (NEWS 1130) – Things are looking up when it comes to that large brush fire burning near the Richmond Nature Park.

Ted Townsend with the City of Richmond says “significant progress” was made over the weekend.

“And establishing a fire break all the way around the site and knocking it down considerably with the assistance of the BC Wildfire Service firefighters and Department of National Defence firefighters, and some other firefighters from other municipalities in the region, along with the Richmond Fire and Rescue crews.”

He adds crews are continuing with their efforts to put the fire out completely, but says they’re facing some challenging conditions in a heavily forested area.

“It can be quite dangerous because essentially as the peat burns it can actually undermine the footing underneath, so firefighters have to be very careful because they could actually step into what appears to be surface ground and have it collapse beneath their feet.”

Townsend expects it’ll take another couple of days to put the fire out, but adds it’s pretty much 100 per cent contained at this point.

That doesn’t mean crews are letting their guard down.

“We do have to be vigilant because embers or sparks could always drift outside of the containment area and cause spot fires in other areas. So we’re keeping on top of it.”

He says Westminster Highway was reopened Saturday night, however Shell Road between Westminster Highway and Alderbridge is still expected to remain closed for at least the next few days.

The fire is estimated to be about eight to 10 hectares in size. Waterbombers were called in on Friday to attack the fire from above, and were able to make a difference.

“The focus now is on the ground attack, and that’s hard work given the conditions,” Townsend says. “You’ve got to work bit by bit to address every area and make sure the fire is out and then move on to the next area and that requires a lot of very physical and demanding labour and a lot of dilligence.”

Firefighters are also dealing with heat and humid conditions. Townsend says it’s been a battle to keep crews hydrated. They’re also dealing with bugs and uneaven soil.

“It’s been pretty hard on their feet as well, so all together it’s a very difficult job but our crews and our colleagues from other agencies have done an amazing job.”

-With files from Jon Szekeres

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