In a similar spot where two years earlier he said fire conditions were the worst he’s ever seen, Victoria’s top firefighter stood in Summit Park’s crisp and scorched rocky outcrop on Thursday to give a warning.
“We’ve surpassed that, far surpassed that,” said Fire Chief Dan Atkinson.
“We are experiencing call volumes and incident volumes that we’ve never seen.”
The department head spoke steps from where a fire took out about a half-acre of natural parkland just before midnight on July 12.
Crews got a handle on the burn quickly but it had the potential to spread to adjacent structures in the area, posing a risk to the neighbourhood’s residents, Atkinson said, noting fire spread can happen very quickly given the “extremely unprecedented dry conditions” in the province.
There was evidence of human activity at the location, prompting the chief to remind the public that no smoking of any kind is allowed in parks and people need to clean up after themselves as litter can contribute to fire risk.
“When you take these dry conditions and the wind conditions into consideration, these fires can travel extremely fast,” he said, adding homeowners should also take the time to fire smart their homes and property. Those tips can be found at https://firesmartbc.ca/.
Citing a brush fire off Dallas Road days earlier, Atkinson said several recent fires have been deemed human-caused. While he said that doesn’t mean they’ve been intentional – and the Summit Park blaze was not considered suspicious – safe use of parks is critical amid the dry conditions.
“In Victoria, we’ve got a beautiful natural environment that we are all responsible for stewarding and making sure stays safe,” the fire chief said, adding it’s frustrating that irresponsible behaviour in wild areas can put the public and first responders at risk.
Last year was the department’s busiest on record with 9,800 calls and they’re projecting they’ll surpass that by upwards of 1,000 in 2023.
“We really want to draw attention to the complexity and the issues that are being faced in our parks right now given the current climate crisis,” Atkinson said.
“We want to encourage people to be using our parks and our recreation spaces but we want to ensure that they’re doing it responsibly and safely.”
READ: Weekend brush fire, bonfire prompt stern reminder from Victoria firefighters