Fires Hit Alberni

By David Wiwchar PORT ALBERNI — Brush fires, house fires, and forest fires kept every local fire crew busy this past weekend.

A brush fire on the rail line between Beaver Creek and Cherry Creek kept Ministry of Forests and City of Port Alberni fire crews busy Sunday and interrupted steam-train passage from Mclean Mill back to the train station.

A thick plume of smoke was visible throughout the Valley after the fire broke out around 4 p.m.

A 20-man Thunderbird fire crew from Port Alberni along with city firefighters tackled the 140 by 40 metre fire on the ground, while two helicopters with water buckets doused it from above.

The fire may have been sparked by the steam train, which passed through the area to the mill about an hour before.

Last week, crews responded to a smaller fire near Maple Drive that was sparked by the steam train.

A fire-spotter does patrol the tracks behind the steam train.

The fire department is investigating the fire and could make recommendations about increased fire patrols along the tracks.

On Saturday, city firefighters were busy with a pair of house fires.

A neighbor to a house on 16th and Redford saw smoke and kept a house from being extensively damaged.

Crews received the fire call shortly before noon and were able to quickly extinguish a blaze at the back of the house.

Three hours later they were battling a blaze on Athol Street, and a quick response allowed firefighters to save a family dog and put out the fire within minutes.

No one was injured in the fires, both of which are under investigation.

The fire department also received a couple of burning complaints over the weekend, and are reminding people there is a complete ban on open burning throughout the Alberni Valley due to the extreme fire danger.

Meantime, the Coulson Flying Tanker Hawaii Mars received its first fire call of the year last week.

A two-hectare fire on Malcolm Island near Port Hardy was extinguished after only one drop from the mighty Martin Mars.

The Coulson Crews could get a call this week to help out with a 600-hectare fire burning near Lillooet.