Gibsons Fire Chief Rob Michael told Town councillors Tuesday that his department has sent a crew and a truck to the Interior to help deal with the wildfires that now have displaced more than 40,000 people.
Michael said the province asked for the Gibsons firefighters and equipment to be available for a six-day deployment, but he added that he expects they will be needed “for quite some time.” The truck is now stationed in Cache Creek and a replacement crew was due to head out on Thursday.
Michael also pointed to an incident Monday on Gibsons Way as evidence that, even with firefighters from Sechelt, Halfmoon Bay and Gibsons in the Interior, local fire protection is not compromised.
Firefighters were called out Monday evening when a boat stored at a property in the 700-block of Gibsons Way caught fire. The fire spread to a shed and vehicles parked nearby. Michael told councillors that several other structures were also threatened. “We hit it hard early on,” he said, “knowing we have resources off Coast.”
Under a mutual aid agreement, firefighters from Roberts Creek and Sechelt also responded, and at the height of the blaze some 50 personnel were at the scene. One RCMP officer was taken to hospital for smoke inhalation.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but is not considered suspicious.
During his quarterly update for Gibsons council, RCMP Staff Sgt. Vishal Mathura said Sunshine Coast RCMP have been sending three officers at a time to the Interior to bolster local detachments. He explained that all RCMP detachments were asked to send 10 per cent of their complement.
“It’s challenging, but we’re maintaining our minimum manpower requirement,” Mathura said.
A province-wide state of emergency is still in place, along with a comprehensive campfire and open burning ban. And, with fire danger ratings at extreme in the Earls Cove area and high throughout the rest of the Sunshine Coast, Michael said fire chiefs are encouraging people to report illegal burning, which is being treated with “zero tolerance.”
