The BC Wildfire Service is fighting a 3.8-hectare fire in the Pender Harbour area, the seventh in that part of the Sunshine Coast this season.
The fire, designated as the Sakinaw Lake Fire, is burning on the opposite side of Highway 101 from the lake near BC Hydro’s Malaspina Substation.
The fire was first reported Aug. 5, and the Wildfire Service responded with ground crews and helicopters. The Pender Harbour and Egmont fire departments also sent trucks to the scene.
As of Tuesday morning, the BC Wildfire Service had a 15-person initial attack crew working on the fire and a 20-person unit crew was expected to arrive as well.
Two water bucket helicopters were also on scene.
The cause of the fire is unknown.
The Coastal Fire Centre said the size of the response was dictated mainly by the dry conditions and the need to bring the fire under control as quickly as possible.
As of Aug. 6 the wildfire danger rating for the Sunshine Coast was moderate, although with a week of warm, dry weather in the forecast, that is expected to change.
The Coastal Fire Centre has not imposed a campfire ban so far this season, and bans in Sechelt and Pender Harbour were lifted in mid-July. Gibsons has a year-round ban in place.
