A crew of 32 firefighters and two helicopters successfully contained a blaze in the Mineral Creek area above Britannia Beach over the weekend.
The fire, which grew as large as three hectares, is believed to have been caused by humans. It is still under investigation by the Coastal Fire Centre (CFC).
"We know it was human-caused, but exactly how is still under investigation," said Tim Neal, fire information officer for the CFC. "We know there was no lightning in the area, so we're assuming that people were responsible."
The fire took place within a 12-hectare forestry cut block, burning fallen trees and slash. The burn was called in at roughly 9 p.m. on Friday evening, at which point fire crews from Pemberton were immediately dispatched to the scene. They fought the fire over the weekend and by 1 p.m. on Sunday the CFC ruled that the fire was 100 per cent contained, although mop-up efforts continued through the day.
The fire hazard through the coast and on Vancouver Island ranges from low to moderate, but with the wind and lots of fuel available in the cut block Neal says the fire spread quickly.
There were homes below the ridge where the fire took place but there was no evacuation order and no property was damaged.
To date there have been 150 wildfires across the province, the majority of which have been started by people. The fire hazard is especially high in the Interior, which had a lower snowpack than normal and very little rain so far.
There have been less than 20 fires in the Coastal Fire Centre. So far the fire at Britannia is the largest reported.
