Up front: CVRD goes to the Kootenays to pluck new CAO page 5 Cowichan family: Hot festival parade warms the Warm Land page 11
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Moored boats get reprieve
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Firefighters battle stubborn Stoltz Bluff scorcher
Sunday: Two fire departments and the forest service combine for five-hour effort in rugged rural area
North Cowichan: Eviction order stayed while council takes a new look at bylaw Don Bodger
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Kathy Santini
News Leader Pictorial
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wo local fire departments and the B.C.Forest Service fought a fire in the Sahtlam area for five hours on Sunday afternoon. Mike Lees, deputy chief with the Sahtlam Volunteer Fire Rescue said eight firefighters from his department, six from the Lake Cowichan Fire Department and three members of the B.C. Forest Service battled a one-hectare fire on Stoltz Bluff near Stoltz Road. Residents in the remote area saw the bush fire, called 911 and were conducting a bucket brigade when the departments arrived on the scene at around 1:30 p.m. Lees said, “human activity,” caused the fire and that the embers left from a pig roast on Saturday are suspected. “I’ll have a better idea when I go back tomorrow,” he said. The Sahtlam department sent out a fire engine and two tenders while Lake Cowichan sent a utility bush fire truck and a tender as well. The 34 degree temperature, the steep hillside and lots of stumps, roots and trees made the task challenging. “You have to look for the hot spots or the next day, they come back to bite you,” Lees said. The B.C. Ambulance Service was on the scene and checked the firemen to ensure they weren’t overheated. Almost six hours after leaving, Lees said his department was called back after a resident found a hot spot. It took 30 minutes to put it out. As a reminder, the deputy fire chief said there are no open fires, nor cigarettes allowed, and that if you smell smoke, call the fire department. “Most of all, be careful, it’s dry.” A similar fire near Spectacle Lake Saturday kept the Malahat department busy. For more, see page three.
Andrew Leong
Sahtlam firefighters got assistance from Lake Cowichan to battle a stubborn 1:30 p.m. Sunday afternoon brush fire at 5876 Stoltz Rd.
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oat owners in Bird’s Eye Cove who received notices from North Cowichan to relocate their vessels or be subject to a $500 fine by Wednesday do not have to comply after all. At least, for now. “The notice which was sent out generated a significant response (Thursday) morning which kept us busy prior to the 1:30 (p.m.) council meeting,’’ noted Scott Mack, North Cowichan’s director of development services. About a dozen boat owners turned up at a special meeting pertaining to University Village Thursday and were incorporated onto the agenda, with three allowed Jon Lefebure: to speak on the issue to council. apologized Robert Munroe, Nicholas Bouchard and Don Bruneski spoke in different ways about the boarding of boats, the lack of consultation with people affected by the action and a willingness to participate in discussions with North Cowichan officials on the topic. “When they talked about their situation it was pretty clear they weren’t actually the issues we were worrying about,’’ said North Cowichan Mayor Jon Lefebure. So it was suggested by staff and council agreed that a proper report needed to be done and brought back to council. Boat relocation is thus postponed until at least the Aug. 20 meeting when the matter will come up for discussion again, with more detail from a staff report available for consideration. “I realize this caused some real concerns for legitimate boat owners,’’ said Lefebure. The intent was more to deal with derelicts and liveaboards without proper sewage treatment, Lefebure said, because North Cowichan doesn’t want its waters to become a dumping ground. With that in mind, there could be a compromise coming to the bylaw to make that very distinction. “I think you have to look for the good sometimes,’’ said Lefebure. “I apologized to the boat owners this came about so coarsely and not properly thought-out. We will try to make it right from here on in.’’
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