Saanich fire crews have extinguished a brush fire at Panama Flats that may have been sparked by careless smokers.

The blaze broke out just before 2 p.m. in a wooded area of the flats, according to Saanich Fire’s acting battalion chief David Elder.

Crews used deck guns to dampen the half-acre blaze before knocking down the rest of the flames.

Elder said a sweep of the area turned up evidence of smoking materials such as cigarette butts and matches.

He said investigators are calling the fire “suspicious,” but the exact cause of the fire has yet to be determined.

Fortunately for crews, wind worked in their favour despite hot and dry conditions ideal for brush fires.

“It’s very dry out there. We got lucky with this one,” Elder said. “It really travels quickly. If it had been blowing the other way, it would’ve been coming into more fuel.”

No structures were threatened by the fire and it was extinguished shortly after it broke out.

The blaze shut down Roy Road between Carey and Wilkinson for more than two hours Monday.

Fire officials across the Island have been warning that an unprecedented dry spell would lead to more brush and grass fires.

A campfire ban is currently in place for most Island residents, and Sooke's fire chief recently called off the community’s planned Canada Day fireworks event as a precaution.