Enviroment

PRESS RELEASE – Zeballos WIldfire Update

August 14, 2018

PRESS RELEASE

Re: Zeballos Wildfire Update

The Village of Zeballos continues to monitor the fire spread and will provide structure protection if needed. Emergency Program Coordinator (EPC) Mike Atchison is advising Mayor and Council of necessary steps moving forward. Our regional neighbours have been in contact and have offered assistance if we need it. Please don’t panic.

Further information from the BC Wildfire Service:

BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) continues to observe and assess this fire. Due to the steepness of the terrain it’s not possible to put crews on the fire as it is.

To achieve effective fire control with bucketing of water or retardant requires a trained crew to follow and extinguish the fire from the ground. Bucketing the fire with water or retardant without ground crews to fight the fire behind it would not put the fire out and could potentially exacerbate the situation by rolling the fire down the hill.

BCWS will try to support the local fire department with commitment to supply some firefighting materials.

Priority of BCWS at this point is to keep the road open and the lights on which is important to the safety of the people of the Village. The fire at 13KM is reportedly 70% contained with 13 fire fighters, 2 pieces of heavy equipment and 2 helicopters working to make that 100%.

Lightening caused 44 new wildfire starts in 72 hours. BCWS is working really hard to prioritize keeping roads open and power on and phone service up for all communities. Top priority is the safety of both firefighting crews and the public. BCWS understands that it is a scary and unnerving situation.

Contact:

Zeballos Village Office

250-761-4229

To report a wildfire call 1-800-663-5555.