A large vehicle fire was discovered Tuesday at the Tie Lake Transfer Station, alarming the RDEK’s Elk Valley and South Country Rural Fire Services to the massive threat the fire could have caused to the public.
Dave Boreen, Fire Chief of the RDEK’s Elk Valley and South Country Rural Fire Services told MyEastKootenayNow.com that he was dropping off garbage at the Tie Lake Transfer Station on Tuesday morning when he came across the scene and extinguished the flames himself.
“Obviously, it was burnt overnight and it wasn’t reported to us so we had no idea about the fire originally. There was very large wood piles, wood debris piles all around the car and forest right there and homes nearby,” said Boreen. “If that car had extended this fire into those wood piles and then further into the forest, homes could have been lost, lives, businesses, it had a huge potential for a wildfire.”
“Things are very tinder-dry there and we don’t need actions like these to put everybody at peril,” added Boreen.
An investigation is underway to determine who may have sparked the fire, which Boreen called both “irresponsible” and “unbelievable”.
“Under the BC Wildfire Act, these people could be potentially liable for huge costs, huge fines, any firefighting costs. Thankfully there was none, we got stupid lucky last night that things didn’t spread.”
Boreen said the area has been under “Extreme” fire hazard for weeks and that the entire community of Jaffray was put at risk because of the reckless fire at the Transfer Station.
“People don’t have to look far to see what’s going on within the province with the massive fires that are happening. People are being evacuated from their homes, they’re on alert, their lives are coming to a stop, people are losing their homes. Then we have people that come out and light fires like this, it’s just so irresponsible, we just don’t need that. We’re short resources as it is and the potential there was just unbelievable.”
Anyone that may have information about the car vehicle, which happened sometime Monday evening to Tuesday morning is asked to contact the RDEK’s Elk Valley and South Country Rural Fire Services at 250-429-3133.