Saanich Fire are currently investigating three suspicious spot-fires in SaanichB次元官网网址檚 Panama Flats region that started Monday afternoon. Crews put out the fires, but continue to investigate them because of their nature.
Multiple suspicious spot fires...several fairly large, just extinguished in Panama Flats. Quick work by B Shift.
B次元官网网址 Saanich Fire (@SaanichFire)
The fires burnt in a wooden area between Interurban Road and Carey Road near trails used by pedestrians and cyclists.
Brock Henson, assistant deputy chief with the Saanich Fire Department, said the fires are suspicious, because of the distance between them and the general absence of wind that could have pushed embers from the first fire to the subsequent fires.
B次元官网网址淭hey all seem to start roughly the same time,B次元官网网址 he said. B次元官网网址淭hat is why they are suspicious.B次元官网网址
When crews arrived on scene, they came across individuals in the park, whose information they collected as part of the investigation.
Henson could not say anything about the number of individuals in the park and their profiles.
B次元官网网址淚 cannot comment at this time,B次元官网网址 he said. B次元官网网址淚 didnB次元官网网址檛 witness the individuals that were seen in the park by our members, but they will certainly pass the description of the people in the park on to Saanich Police,B次元官网网址 he said.
Two engines, a ladder engine, and a rescue truck responded to the fire. Their presence closed down Interurban Road between Marigold Road and Wilkinson Road for an estimated half hour, if not longer, as crews put out the three fires.
MondayB次元官网网址檚 fires happened against the backdrop of high temperatures and dry conditions across the Greater Victoria region.
As a precaution, several members of the department remained on scene in case the fires flared up again.
Henson praised the quick response of crews in light of the conditions.
B次元官网网址淏-shift did a great job,B次元官网网址 he said. B次元官网网址淭hey got here very, very, very quickly, upgraded the alarm, when they realized there were more than one spot fire, which means they asked for more trucks and resources to come, and once they got here, they got all three fires extinguished in very short order.B次元官网网址
This said, it could have been much more worse.
B次元官网网址淭hankfully, there isnB次元官网网址檛 much wind today,B次元官网网址 he said. B次元官网网址淚f it was [a more windy] afternoon, that might have made conditions a little bit more difficult, but thanks to those folks, who called the fires in, we are able to get here very quickly,B次元官网网址 he said.