Firefighters responded to a wildfire that burned an area about 100 by 150 metres at the north end of Henlyn Drive on Wednesday afternoon.
Sooke Fire Rescue responded to the fire at around 2 p.m. and was joined by the Otter Point and Metchosin fire departments.
“The fire was most likely human-caused,” said Sooke Fire Rescue Chief Ken Mount.
“There’s a trail that runs through the area and if I had to guess I would say that it was probably someone being careless with a cigarette. That’s a big problem in Sooke as it is elsewhere.”
Mount added that the problem is not unique to Sooke as last week Langford fire responded to six grass fires and five had been caused by careless smokers.
“The wind was certainly a factor yesterday, making things a lot more difficult to control the fire. We had microbursts of wind that was gusting up to 100 km an hour,” said Mount.
“We were actually lucky that it wasn’t hotter. That could have made it far worse.
The house near the property was out of danger after firefighters put a wet guard down.
Mount reminded residents that open burning of any type is prohibited within Sooke from June 1 to Sept. 30 with the exception of small campfires.
He also recommended that Sooke residents take the time to review the information on the Fire Smart website for tips on how to keep their homes safe during the fire season.
As well, to report a wildfire or irresponsible behaviour that could start a wildfire in British Columbia, please call 1 800 663-5555 or (*5555 from a cell phone) as soon as possible.
inside Sooke, anyone seeing a wildfire should call 911.
mailto:tim.collins@sookenewsmirror.com
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