On July 8, a human-made fire on Sumas Mountain in Abbotsford spread rapidly, destroying a garage. However, a larger catastrophe was averted because of the aid of a ground crew and helicopters that BC Wildfire Service sent.
According to The Abbotsford News, around 0.1 hectares were consumed by fire. However, by the evening, the firefighters successfully contained it. They dropped buckets of water to help extinguish the flames as swiftly as possible, thermal imaging was used on hotspots to ensure public safety, and a full blown wildfire was avoided.
Abbotsford Deputy Fire Chief Brad Gaudette stated that the situation could have been much worse.
“We’re very lucky that it’s happened at a time when there’s not a lot of wildfires around the province yet, so we were able to get a quick response from BC Wildfire.”
Fortunately, no deaths were recorded during the fire and 12 people were successfully evacuated. While the investigation is still being conducted, it was confirmed that this was a man-made fire.
Hello, I’m Gauri Sethi, a passionate staff writer at the Cascade responsible for writing content that resonates with the masses. Currently, I am pursuing business administration, but deep down, I am a person who loves expressing herself through writing.