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Sechelt fire grows to 300 hectares, claims life of Roberts Creek logger

Old Sechelt Mine Fire

Almost one week after it started, the Old Sechelt Mine wildfire covered an estimated 300 hectares of forest above Sechelt Inlet and had claimed the life of a Roberts Creek logger who was felling trees as part of the firefighting efforts.

John Phare, 60, died after being struck by a falling tree on Sunday, July 5, at about 11:45 a.m. WorkSafeBC, the BC Coroners Service and the RCMP are coordinating the investigation into the accidental death of the father of three.

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John Phare. - Photo Submitted

While friends and family mourned Phare’s passing this week (see story here), the wildfire continued to grow at an accelerating rate, increasing from 80 hectares on Sunday to 150 hectares on Monday to 250 hectares on Tuesday.

Late Wednesday, 37 additional firefighters arrived on the Coast, where already 49 firefighters, four helicopters and eight pieces of heavy equipment were deployed to battle the blaze, the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) said on its website.

District of Sechelt council Wednesday night approved an occupancy agreement for the Kinnikinnick sports field to be used as an incident command post, heliport for administrative flights, staging area and base camp to house and feed between 60 and 100 personnel.

The Halfmoon Carlson forest service road was closed Monday due to the high volume of danger trees and to ensure the safety of fire crews, prompting the SCRD to declare a state of local emergency and issue an evacuation order the same day for 21 waterfront properties at Carlson Point.

While most of the seasonal residents had voluntarily left before the evacuation order, four families that remained were able to drive out on the forest service road, SCRD emergency preparedness coordinator Bill Elsner said Wednesday.

“We had enough notice about the impending road closure that we were able to contact the people and give them the option to drive out,” Elsner said.

Environment Canada issued a smoke advisory for the Sunshine Coast on Sunday, as acrid smoke and falling ash covered much of the South Coast region from wildfires, including massive fires at Elaho and Boulder Creek near Pemberton. The smoke advisory was still in effect at press time Thursday (see story here).

The Sechelt fire’s growth from 250 to 300 hectares on Wednesday was mainly due to a controlled burn that took place the night before and produced favourable results, according to BC Wildfire Service.

“The Sechelt fire response is progressing well,” fire information officer Donna MacPherson said Wednesday. “We did undertake a controlled burn last night, and it met its objectives.”

She said the size of the fire could grow larger after more controlled burning on Wednesday.

“This is an area that the fire would have burned on its own,” she said. “We ignited it under good conditions and [it] will move us toward containment quickly.”

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The Old Sechelt Mine fire as viewed from near Tuwanek on July 4. - Jeffrey Paleczny Photo

The fire is located about two kilometres north of Sechelt and is burning in steep terrain about 1.8 kilometres above the west shore of Sechelt Inlet.

“The east side of the fire has been holding and any growth, including this controlled burn, was in the north, away from any structures,” MacPherson said.

Elsner said the western boundary of the fire “is probably at least five kilometres” from Trout Lake, situated off Highway 101.

“It’s actually not moving toward the highway, it’s not moving toward the inlet. It’s just moving toward more forest. It’s a good place for the fire to go,” he said.

Two additional controlled burns carried out Wednesday were successful, he said.

An SCRD information line was activated at 2 p.m. on Saturday and received more than 500 calls over the weekend.

Also on Saturday, Sunshine Coast RCMP issued an urgent notice that curious onlookers were being spotted within the restricted fire area, creating a serious safety concern for fire crews and themselves.

Crews had reported seeing people enter the area on foot and riding bicycles, motorbikes and ATVs, Sgt. Steve Chubey, the detachment’s Operations NCO, said.

The public was asked to stay away from the areas south from Mason into Old Minesite Road, east from Halfmoon Crowston and south from Halfmoon Carlson Road, which were deemed areas of exclusion under the Wildfire Act.

“Operating motorbikes and ATVs in the area presents an additional fire risk due to the dry conditions, which could lead to additional charges should the act ignite another fire,” Chubey said.

The Sechelt fire was originally called in to the Sechelt Fire Department as a grass fire up Mason Road at about 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 2.

Once on scene, firefighters found a two-hectare fire about four kilometres up the logging road, accessed via the end of Mason Road.

“It was growing significantly fast due to wind conditions,” acting Sechelt fire Chief Trevor Pike said. The fire department was able to battle the fire for a while because the wind was pushing it away from them, allowing for an escape route back down the logging road.

“As the event progressed and we got later into the evening,” Pike said, “the winds started to change direction somewhat and the fire started working back toward us and our escape routes, and we thankfully got some support by air tankers that were able to come in and maintain our escape route.”

The Sechelt department turned over command to BC Wildfire Service. On Thursday evening, two helicopters scooped buckets of water from Wormy Lake to douse the fire and two bombers delivered fire retardant repeatedly.

MacPherson said she could not provide timelines and details of BC Wildfire Service’s response

“This fire is under an RCMP investigation, and we’ve been asked to not release this type of detail until the investigation is complete,” she said.

The fire is suspected to be human caused.

On Wednesday, Premier Christy Clark flew by helicopter into Pemberton, where she reportedly offered condolences to the family of John Phare.

In a statement issued Monday, Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Minister Steve Thomson extended the province’s deepest sympathies on behalf of all British Columbians.

“This tragedy serves as a reminder of the inherent dangers associated with fighting wildfires – and the need for all British Columbians to do their utmost to prevent wildfires in the first place,” Thomson said.

“We are saddened to lose a valued member of our firefighting family. I hope the thoughts and prayers of John’s co-workers and of Sunshine Coast residents are able to provide his family and friends some comfort.”

Updates on the Sechelt fire can be found at www.scrd.ca

– With files from Christine Wood