Fire at Thetis Lake quickly contained, but suspected to be human-caused

In the early hours of Saturday, Aug. 27, people noticed smoke coming from the direction of Thetis Lake Regional Park. View Royal Fire Rescue was on the ground by 6:30am, and called in support from Wildfire BC’s Coastal Fire Centre crew, Langford, and Colwood fire departments. The initial attack started shortly after 6:30am on Saturday.

Firefighters brought the blaze under control before it got larger than half a hectare—less than the size of the Pacific FC’s playing field in Langford. It’s now considered contained, but not yet “out.” Crews are still scanning for hot spots and embers.

And it was thanks to the public that the initial fight happened so quickly. The department depends heavily on the public to report wildfire smoke—call *555, use the Wildfire BC app, or call 911. There aren’t any fire wardens regularly looking for fires on south Vancouver Island because it’s so well populated. In more remote areas they use satellite and air patrol, particularly after lightning strikes.

Thetis Lake was partially re-opened by Sunday, except for the area around Seymour Hill where the fire broke out. Since there hasn’t been any lightning lately, crews suspect the fire was started by a human.

“I can’t stress enough the importance of prevention at this time of year when we haven’t had any rain for a good while,” said Gordon Robinson from the Coastal Fire Centre.

On Monday morning there was another brush fire, this time in East Sooke Park. The East Sooke Volunteer Fire Department responded with help from Otter Point and Metchosin fire departments, and the brush fire was extinguished by around noon. Crews stayed on site for the afternoon to patrol for hot spots and embers.

Last week there was another small fire at Fort Rodd Hill, just across the water from the Esquimalt Lagoon. It, too, was quickly contained by firefighters.

It has only rained twice in August—both times less than a millimetre—and the last three weeks of July were rainless. There is a total ban on fires in the Coastal Fire Centre.