On Sunday, August 5, smoke coming from the south side of Bowen was seen from West Vancouver and prompted a number of reports, says Bowen Island's fire chief Brian Biddlecombe, adding that the incident illustrated the increased fire risk on the island.
Biddlecombe places the fire north of the Bowen Island Golf Course on a private property that borders on the ecological reserve. "At first, we couldn't determine where it was.When we got the location nailed down, we realized that it was a spot that was difficult to get to," he explained. "When we received the call, we notified the BC Forest Service to give them advance notice that we had a situation on the island. They responded very quickly."
Biddlecombe said that the Bowen Island Volunteer Fire Department set up a station near the golf course; the forest service arrived with a crew and two helicopters that made several water drops with one of the helicopters drafting water from Killarney Lake. "We also had an air tanker on site that made several passes but its [involvement] was not required."
Cpl. Nancy Joyce of the Bowen Island RCMP also was on site. "I was up in the BC Forest Service helicopter and saw the fire area. It was apparently 0.2 hectare," she said. "My understanding is that it was caused by human activity." Joyce added that there are several people living in the area but that the investigator was not able to tell her the specific cause of the fire.
Biddlecombe also says that the source of the fire is unclear. "We don't know what caused it. It could have been an old camp fire or cigarettes or even a bit of glass reflecting sunlight." Biddlecombe added that no structures were threatened by the fire and that it wasn't a windy day. "That makes a difference. If we would have had a good wind, that would have been a different story," he said.
On August 2, the Bowen Island Fire Department issued an open fire restriction that prohibits all open burning including camp and beach fires but barbecues and propane campfires are still permitted. "Interestingly enough, there were no fire warnings for the last two summers because it wasn't so dry. This year, it's different. It started late but it's all dried out now," Biddlecombe said. "In 2009, there was a high risk of fire but the summers of 2010 and 2011 were very quiet for the province. This year, it has been drying out and the next few weeks will be similar."
Biddlecombe explained that in some areas on the island, it would be difficult for a fire to take hold, but in other places, the risk is very high.
"On a small island, you have to go by the area with highest risk," he said. "People should be cautious about what they are doing. They should be disposing cigarettes properly and be aware of people who are building campfires. Other things that can happen are lightning storms, vehicle fires or structure fires with the potential to spread. The island is very small and usually things get noticed early on. That gives us a good time to respond."
To improve fire safety, Biddlecombe suggests that residents clean up around their homes to not leave a pathway for a potential fire.
"The other thing I would like people to be aware of is what sometimes happens at the end of the summer. When it's getting cold, people get their fire places going. All it takes is a couple of embers on the roof to start a fire," he said. "Make sure the roof is clear before you start the first fire of the year."
Biddlecombe added that those fires are sometimes hard to detect from the inside.
