Cumberland fire chief warns trail users after overnight fire
A Vancouver Island fire chief is asking off-road vehicle users to exercise extra caution after his crews extinguished a wildfire near the village of Cumberland on Friday morning.
“It’s windy and the grass and bush is dry and it only takes an ember,” said Cumberland Fire Chief Mike Williamson.
Crews were called to a one-acre fire near the intersection of Lake Trail Road and the Comox Logging Road shortly after 4 a.m.
“It was burning towards the edge of the road and I was scared it was going to jump the road because there are houses there on the other side of the road off of Lake Trail Road,” Williamson said.
Williamson believes the cause of the fire was either a dropped cigarette or a motorcycle muffler igniting dry grass.
“People that live out there tell me that they were hearing motorbikes out there around 11 o’clock last night,” he said. “[The fire] was right on the trails and the bike trail runs right through the middle of the fire.”
Williamson says the property is owned by Hancock Forest Management and is commonly used by mountain bikers and motorbike riders.
“We concentrated on the front and it was blowing pretty good this morning,” Williamson said. “It was probably blowing about 30 kilometres an hour and the ashes and flames were blowing onto the road about 30 feet high.”
Crews spent approximately five hours on scene before their mop-up efforts were completed.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Average hourly wage in Canada now $34.95: StatCan
Average hourly wages among Canadian employees rose to $34.95 on a year-over-year basis in April, a 4.7 per cent increase, according to a Statistics Canada report released Friday morning.
Magnitude 4.2 earthquake reported off Vancouver Island's west coast
A 4.2-magnitude earthquake was recorded west of Vancouver Island early Friday morning.
This iconic Canadian song is turning 50
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
Federal government bans watercraft from Manitoba lake popular with tourists
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.
Her SUV was stolen in Montreal. A Good Samaritan on Facebook helped her get it back
Just as she had feared, a restaurant owner from eastern Quebec who visited Montreal had her SUV stolen, but says it was all thanks to the kindness of strangers on the internet — not the police — that she got it back.
Oprah Winfrey: I set an unrealistic standard for dieting
Oprah Winfrey said on Thursday evening that she has long played a role in promoting unhealthy and unrealistic diets.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Toronto police called to Drake's Bridle Path mansion for another alleged intruder on Thursday
Toronto police say a man who allegedly attempted to access Drake’s Bridle Path property was taken to hospital on Thursday after an altercation with security guards.