Sooke beach fire spreads to surrounding area

Firefighters in Sooke, B.C., were called to the 1400 block of Gillespie road this morning, after a beach fire spread to the surrounding area.

The fire was spotted and called in by a cyclist on the nearby trail, said Sooke Fire Chief Steven Sorenson.

"It was a small beach fire, I think they thought it was out. It jumped to the bank and then started spreading along the beach towards the structure on the property," he said.

"Luckily there is a large concrete retaining wall so that was kind of keeping it from spreading, but it just got to the trees when we got on scene."

Beach fires are still permitted in Sooke, but Sorenson says they are looking at putting a ban in place before the weekend, when a heat wave is forecast to hit much of southern B.C.

He says the entire CRD watershed area is at an extreme fire danger rating.

• Read more about wildfires in B.C.

Earlier this week the B.C. River Forecast Centre issued a advisory that several rivers and creeks on Vancouver Island have reached historic lows for this time of year.