TimmyTabasco
9-13-05, 3:35 PM
Heavy smoke is hampering the efforts of fire crews in the B.C. Lower Mainland as they try to beat down a massive blaze that has torched an area close to two square kilometres.
Smoke from the fire has covered the region, and health authorities were warning residents in the area with respiratory problems to stay indoors.
The fire department has been forced to delay an aerial survey of the burning Burns Bog -- an environmentally significant wetland in Delta -- until the weather clears.
Crews have massed at the edges of Burns Bog, trying to slow down the blaze burning just 25 kilometres southwest of downtown Vancouver.
George Harvie, the chief administrative officer for the Corporation of Delta, said they thought they had the fire under control on Monday.
"And late in the afternoon, it actually had breached some of the fire retardant lines that were being set by quite a massive aerial attack on the fire situation," he told CTV's Canada AM on Tuesday.
Currently, 170 hectares, or 420 acres, of the 4,000-hectare park is currently affected by the fire, Harvie said.
The fire was first reported on Sunday, and barriers set up to contain the blaze failed. Aircraft called in Sunday night dropped a kilometre wide trail of retardant on the fringes, but were unable to prevent the fire from breaking through the barriers in a couple of places.
Many home owners are awaiting a one-hour notice to evacuate that could come at any time. Tina Miller's farm backs onto the bog, and may have to flee with 40 horses.
"If the wind changes that means the smoke is coming this way," Miller said. "If the smoke comes this way we're going to have to leave."
Ground crews from the Delta Fire Department have joined forces with the B.C Forest Service, along with an array of air tankers and helicopters.
Delta Mayor Lois Jackson fears the damage caused by the fire will have long terms consequences. "It's unbelievable what the fire can do. You wonder how this will ever revive itself."
White haze above Vancouver
Several neighbourhoods in the area are currently not being threatened, as winds were blowing the smoke eastward away from the water and highway.
But on Monday, thick plumes of smoke were visible across the Lower Mainland, and parked cars were covered with ash.
With a white haze hanging in the air above Vancouver, a burning smell was also evident across the mainland. Fine particles discharged from the fire have rendered the air quality so poor that people were calling 9-1-1 in droves to complain about the smoke.
Officials said there's no reason to panic, as breathing the smoke for a few days shouldn't harm a healthy person. However, seniors and small children were urged to take extra precautions. People are advised to keep windows closed, and to contact their doctor should they experience difficulty breathing.
The bog caught fire before. In 1996 a fire scorched 170 hectares and took two days to extinguish.
Burns Bog is a large undeveloped area that extends over 4,000 hectares, roughly 10 times the size of Vancouver's Stanley Park. It encompasses the largest undeveloped urban area in Canada and the largest wetland in the Fraser River delta.
It is home to various species including beaver, muskrat and Columbian black-tailed deer, and 150 species of birds. It is also the site of the largest garbage dump west of Toronto, according to DiscoverVancouver's website.
It is not known yet what sparked the blaze.
http://images.ctv.ca/archives/CTVNews/img2/20050912/160_bog_fire2_050912.jpg
http://images.ctv.ca/archives/CTVNews/img2/20050912/160x_bog_fire_050912.jpg
http://images.ctv.ca/archives/CTVNews/img2/20050913/160_fire_fighters_050913.jpg Source (http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1126572410105_174/?hub=TopStories)
This fire has grown since the other day, to nine times the previous size. I live in delta, and you can smell it..the smoke is like a thick fog. You can't go outside for long, or it starts to affect your breathing.
Hopefully they get it put out asap
Smoke from the fire has covered the region, and health authorities were warning residents in the area with respiratory problems to stay indoors.
The fire department has been forced to delay an aerial survey of the burning Burns Bog -- an environmentally significant wetland in Delta -- until the weather clears.
Crews have massed at the edges of Burns Bog, trying to slow down the blaze burning just 25 kilometres southwest of downtown Vancouver.
George Harvie, the chief administrative officer for the Corporation of Delta, said they thought they had the fire under control on Monday.
"And late in the afternoon, it actually had breached some of the fire retardant lines that were being set by quite a massive aerial attack on the fire situation," he told CTV's Canada AM on Tuesday.
Currently, 170 hectares, or 420 acres, of the 4,000-hectare park is currently affected by the fire, Harvie said.
The fire was first reported on Sunday, and barriers set up to contain the blaze failed. Aircraft called in Sunday night dropped a kilometre wide trail of retardant on the fringes, but were unable to prevent the fire from breaking through the barriers in a couple of places.
Many home owners are awaiting a one-hour notice to evacuate that could come at any time. Tina Miller's farm backs onto the bog, and may have to flee with 40 horses.
"If the wind changes that means the smoke is coming this way," Miller said. "If the smoke comes this way we're going to have to leave."
Ground crews from the Delta Fire Department have joined forces with the B.C Forest Service, along with an array of air tankers and helicopters.
Delta Mayor Lois Jackson fears the damage caused by the fire will have long terms consequences. "It's unbelievable what the fire can do. You wonder how this will ever revive itself."
White haze above Vancouver
Several neighbourhoods in the area are currently not being threatened, as winds were blowing the smoke eastward away from the water and highway.
But on Monday, thick plumes of smoke were visible across the Lower Mainland, and parked cars were covered with ash.
With a white haze hanging in the air above Vancouver, a burning smell was also evident across the mainland. Fine particles discharged from the fire have rendered the air quality so poor that people were calling 9-1-1 in droves to complain about the smoke.
Officials said there's no reason to panic, as breathing the smoke for a few days shouldn't harm a healthy person. However, seniors and small children were urged to take extra precautions. People are advised to keep windows closed, and to contact their doctor should they experience difficulty breathing.
The bog caught fire before. In 1996 a fire scorched 170 hectares and took two days to extinguish.
Burns Bog is a large undeveloped area that extends over 4,000 hectares, roughly 10 times the size of Vancouver's Stanley Park. It encompasses the largest undeveloped urban area in Canada and the largest wetland in the Fraser River delta.
It is home to various species including beaver, muskrat and Columbian black-tailed deer, and 150 species of birds. It is also the site of the largest garbage dump west of Toronto, according to DiscoverVancouver's website.
It is not known yet what sparked the blaze.
http://images.ctv.ca/archives/CTVNews/img2/20050912/160_bog_fire2_050912.jpg
http://images.ctv.ca/archives/CTVNews/img2/20050912/160x_bog_fire_050912.jpg
http://images.ctv.ca/archives/CTVNews/img2/20050913/160_fire_fighters_050913.jpg Source (http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1126572410105_174/?hub=TopStories)
This fire has grown since the other day, to nine times the previous size. I live in delta, and you can smell it..the smoke is like a thick fog. You can't go outside for long, or it starts to affect your breathing.
Hopefully they get it put out asap