The BC Wildfire Service said Wednesday that a 3.8-hectare fire in the Pender Harbour area was being held.
The fire, which was first spotted late in the afternoon of Monday, Aug. 5, was designated the Sakinaw Lake Fire by the Wildfire Service and is burning on the opposite side of Highway 101 from the lake near BC Hydro’s Malaspina Substation.
It’s the seventh wildfire in that part of the Sunshine Coast this season.
The Wildfire Service said as of Wednesday morning there were two three person initial attack crews assigned to the fire along with a 17-person unit crew supported by a water bucketing helicopter and two water tenders.
The Pender Harbour and Egmont fire departments were part of the initial response on Monday, but have since been stood down.
BC Hydro said that while the fire is close to the substation there were no immediate concerns about damage to the facility or other hydro infrastructure.
The Coastal Fire Centre said the size of the response, which at its peak involved nearly 40 firefighters, was dictated mainly by the dry conditions and the need to bring the fire under control as quickly as possible.
The exact cause is unknown, but the Wildfire Service has listed it as “person caused.”
As of noon Aug. 6 the wildfire danger rating for the Sunshine Coast was high.
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.
