'Good advancement' being made on Richmond, B.C., fire
Fire started Friday near Richmond Nature Park by Highway 99
About 60 firefighters are still battling a fire that started Friday near Richmond Nature Park by Highway 99.
Richmond Fire Rescue began fighting the fire early Friday morning. Deputy Chief Kevin Gray said with assistance from B.C. Wildfire Service and the Department of National Defence, they have held the fire at 10 to 12 hectares in size.
"We're making some good advancement," Gray said.
"Everything we anticipated that was going to happen last night happened. So we're getting a little bit of the upper hand and the goal at the end of the day is to have a perimeter line around the fire so it's just contained within that line."
Difficult conditions
The area, which is heavily forested with peat soils, has been tricky for firefighters to work in.
"We have a lot of hazards on site," Gray said. "There's lots of ash pits and burned out holes in the ground. Lots of ankle and leg injury possibilities."
Staff are being briefed on the conditions and Gray says there have been no injuries so far.
The heat is also a factor. This weekend is forecast to be the hottest of the year so far across Metro Vancouver.
The fire has also shut down parts of Westminster Highway and Shell Road so crews can bring in equipment, hoses and water.
Gray said he anticipates Westminster Highway will re-open Saturday, but Shell Road will be closed for the next several days.
Cause still under investigation
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
"Our investigators are currently working on that at the same time. A fire like this is tough. We do have [some] evidence of encampments on the property so we're looking in those areas," Gray said.
He said RCMP are looking for people associated with the encampments.
With files from Deb Goble