Firefighters contain wildfire burning on southern Vancouver Island
A wildfire burning on southern Vancouver Island tripled in size Thursday morning after temporarily breaking free of the control of firefighters.
The Muir Creek fire, in a remote valley northeast of Shirley, B.C., was discovered Friday.
For days, fire crews had successfully contained the blaze to one-third of a hectare until Thursday morning, when the fire had reached one hectare, or approximately two and a half acres.
The fire was burning “out of control” until Thursday afternoon, when the BC Wildfire Service said fire crews had once again gained control and contained the blaze.
“We saw growth overnight,” said Coastal Fire Centre information officer Dorthe Jakobsen. “The conditions are very dry out there.”
A helicopter, two water trucks and a crew of nine personnel on the ground are currently battling the blaze, Jakobsen said.
“They will be there all day,” Jakobsen said, but noted “resources change all the time as the needs change on the fire.”
Investigators suspect the fire was human-caused.
The Muir Creek fire is currently the only wildfire on Vancouver Island, according to the wildfire service.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
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.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.