Crews battling human-caused wildfire near Sooke, B.C.
Crews are responding to a new wildfire that sparked in the Sooke Potholes Regional Park on Vancouver Island Monday afternoon.
The blaze was discovered just after 2:45 p.m. and is currently listed at 3 hectares in size and burning out of control, according to the BC Wildfire Service. It’s suspected to be human-caused.
The BCWS has three initial attack crews fighting the fire and three helicopters bucketing it. Staff from the Capital Regional District are also on scene.
The entire park is closed, as is the campground within it. The District of Sooke is asking everyone to avoid the area as firefighters work.
“The public should be aware that smoke may be highly visible in the area,” the BCWS wrote.
More than 350 wildfires were burning across the province as of Monday afternoon, with over 50 new starts in the past 24 hours, mostly due to lightning.
The new fire near Sooke is one of two on Vancouver Island; the other near Nanaimo has been under control at one hectare for several days.
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