Tim Collins/B次元官网网址 staff

As a smokey haze obscures the sky and casts a otherworldly orange tinge across the sky, some residents of Dean Park Estates have expressed concern about the potential of a wildfire taking hold in the 174 acres of the adjacent John Dean Provincial Park.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 really a bad situation right now. The storms this winter knocked down a lot of trees and branches and all that debris is now sitting on the ground, drying out. All itB次元官网网址檚 going to take is one spark, and the whole thing could go up,B次元官网网址� said Dean Park Estates resident Pam McCorquodale.

The concern of a wildfire in the park is especially concerning for the residents of the approximately 780 homes in Dean Park Estates.

B次元官网网址淚 live right on the edge of the park and IB次元官网网址檓 really scared that, if a fire breaks out, my home is going to go. ItB次元官网网址檚 like living next to a ticking time bomb and I wish there was something being done to remove and dispose of the fire fuel on the ground throughout the park,B次元官网网址� said Virgina Rouslin another Dean Park Estate resident.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e seen down in Oregon where they have done that to prevent wild fires and I donB次元官网网址檛 understand why we donB次元官网网址檛 do it here.B次元官网网址�

The access road to the park was closed last week due to the extreme fire risk, but the trails throughout the park remain open. And although no fires are permitted within park boundaries and no smoking is allowed, area residents have reported that cigarette butts can regularly be seen, discarded along the trails.

B次元官网网址淎ll it takes is one idiot to throw a cigarette butt into the woods and weB次元官网网址檇 have a fire, so itB次元官网网址檚 really everyoneB次元官网网址檚 responsibility to use extreme caution when using the park,B次元官网网址� said John Trelford, North Saanich Fire Chief.

He advocates that area residents also take reasonable precautions to safeguard their surrounding property. According to government websites, those actions include removing combustible materials, including dead plants, leaves, weeds, patio furniture, firewood, and other decorative items from within ten metres of your home. Gates should be secured in an open position and propane tanks should be moved away from the house.

Another issue raised by some community residents involves the fact that Mount Newton, within the parkB次元官网网址檚 boundaries, is home to a significant amount of communications equipment that, in part, is used to control air and marine traffic throughout the region. A fire in the park could destroy that equipment and disrupt that communication and control.

Should a fire break out, it would fall under the auspices of the B.C. Wildfire Service as the North Saanich Fire Department is not equipped to deal with a forest fire. According to Trelford, his department would respond to the area to help safeguard the homes adjacent to the park.