LOCAL NEWS: UPPER CLEARWATER HALL WOES ▼ A2 & A5
Times
Thursday, August 27, 2015 ▼ Volume 51 No. 35 ▼ www.clearwatertimes.com ▼ $1.35 Includes GST
THE
NORTH THOMPSON
GYMKHANA:
2014
Wells Gray Riders have fun. See page A12 inside.
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Forest fire hazard remains high
Keith McNeill
Staff at Clearwater Fire Zone had a relatively quiet week last week, according to forest protection officer Jim Jones – but it wasn’t entirely restful. A 20-person unit crew from Princeton that was combating a 20 hectare fire east of Murtle Lake was transferred to Oliver on Tuesday. The fire is well contained but is being patrolled by Initial Attack crews from Clearwater. Left: Smoke rises from a small wildfire in the Thunder River drainage northwest of Blue River. Because of the site's inaccessibility and lack of timber values, the fire is being left to burn itself out. Photo submitted
Multiple fires near the Azure River east of Azure Lake in Wells Gray Park are being left to burn themselves out. One exception was a fire on the north side of Azure Lake that was actioned by a rappel crew on Wednesday. The crew then left to fight a fire on the east side of Murtle Lake on Thursday. Also on Thursday, people who were doing an aerial silviculture survey for the forest district spotted a fire in the Thunder River drainage northwest of Blue River. Because of the extremely steep terrain and lack of timber values, the fire is being left to burn itself out. A Blackpool resident who uses a
wood heater for his house caused a false alarm when the heater created a cloud of smoke as it warmed up. Clearwater Fire Zone had an extra three-person Initial Attack crew from Telkwa – but only until last Wednesday. As of Friday, five of the six people in the two IA crews normally assigned to Clearwater will be going back to university. Personnel will be found to make up the reduction, Jones said. The campfire ban across the Kamloops Fire Center is still in place. Conservation officers and others are out patrolling the ban. The fire hazard at Coldscaur Lake and other nearby lakes was extreme and continues to be high, Jones said.
Quick action by local men prevents possible catastrophe Keith McNeill “It could have made Rock Creek look like a backyard barbeque but those guys were right on the spot and not afraid to go into action.” That was the assessment of longtime Upper Clearwater resident George Briggs after tow-truck operator Kevin Tinker plus one or two other local men helped prevent a vehicle fire from causing a major forest fire. The incident occurred late Wednesday afternoon, Aug. 20, about 20 km up Clearwater Valley Road. According to Briggs, a vehicle from Alberta being driven by a woman with two children collided with a vehicle being driven
An onlooker watches as fire consumes a car following a two-vehicle crash in Upper Clearwater on Aug. 20. Photo by Heather Zittlau
by a local resident. Briggs first became aware of the incident when he saw a black column of smoke ris-
ing in the distance. Although the crash occurred near where his driveway connects with the road, the
Briggs’ house is about one kilometre away. The Upper Clearwater man grabbed a five-gallon pump-can and jumped into his pickup. When he arrived at the road, he found two vehicles smashed together, with one of them burning actively. Fortunately, a towtruck from Clearwater Towing had been up in the park, apparently pulling a vehicle that had gone into the ditch back onto the road. The tow-truck operator, Kevin Tinker, sized up the situation and, with the help of one or two other local men, attached a long line to the burning car. The line was attached to the spokes of one of the vehicle’s wheel.
“I was afraid of the gas tank exploding but Kevin seemed to know what he was doing,” Briggs said. The tow truck then pulled the pickup into an open gravel area in Briggs’ driveway where it could burn itself out safely. Briggs then helped put out what fire remained in the grass. Soon afterwards, personnel from BC Ambulance, Clearwater Volunteer Fire Department, Clearwater and District Highway Rescue and BC Forest Service arrived on the scene. “It was really quite an effort by those folks,” Briggs said. “It was a good community effort.” Kevin Tinker was quite modest about his accomplishment.
Highway 5 Little Fort, BC 250-677-4441
“I’m just glad that I was able to do that,” he said. “It just good luck that I arrived on the scene when I did.” Gas tanks exploding when vehicles are on fire is something that happens mostly in the movies, from what he said. “I’ve seen enough vehicle fires to know it’s not likely to go bang,” Tinker said. The two vehicles had already been separated and the fire was mostly out when Clearwater Volunteer Fire Department arrived on the scene, said fire chief Mike Smith. RCMP Sgt. Kevin Podbisky had called him to see if the fire department could help out. Smith in turned called District of
Highway 5 Clearwater, BC 250-674-3148
Located on Highway 5
Clearwater chief administrative office Leslie Groulx to get permission to go outside the municipality’s fire protection boundary. Only the department’s bush truck and five firefighters went to the scene. One pumper truck assisted by driving to the municipal boundary with extra water for the crew. The District’s bylaws allow the fire department to go outside the boundary, but only with permission, the fire chief said. “Clearwater was not left unprotected,” the fire chief said. “We never take everything out of town.” For more details about the crash and its outcome, see the RCMP Report on page A9 inside.