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
BREAKING Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
BREAKING Former Air Canada employees among suspects identified in gold heist at Pearson airport: police
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.
MPs summon ArriveCan contractor to the House to be admonished in rare parliamentary display
Enacting an extraordinarily rarely used parliamentary power, MPs have summoned an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon to be admonished publicly for failing to answer their questions.
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
Gas prices across Ontario expected to climb to levels not seen since 2022, analyst says
Ontario is going to see a big jump at the pumps later this week as gas prices in the province hit levels not seen in nearly two years, according to one industry analyst.
Ancient skeletons unearthed in France reveal Mafia-style killings
More than 5,500 years ago, two women were tied up and probably buried alive in a ritual sacrifice, using a form of torture associated today with the Italian Mafia, according to an analysis of skeletons discovered at an archaeological site in southwest France.
Paul McCartney and John Lennon’s sons have released a single together
A new Lennon and McCartney collaboration is the last thing anybody expected.
Some millennials say federal budget was 'a letdown' amid cost of living struggles
It’s a picture-perfect scene: Adam and Maria Reynolds are playing with their daughters inside their Port Coquitlam, B.C. home. Watching them together, you might not realize the Reynolds household is stretched to its limit.