Thinking a campfire would be cool? Give your head a shake

By David F. Rooney

Next time you’re out on the flats and you have a brainwave like setting a campfire please give your head a shake.

That’s certainly what some local kids needed to do when they were down at Six Mile on Saturday afternoon.

Dan Hutchison of the Revelstoke Fire Department said the kids apparently started a campfire so they could roast some hot dogs when the layers of bone-dry grass on the flats caught fire from an ember.

Fire fighters responded, which is great, but in case no one has noticed it is very, very dry out there and — thanks to the lack of snow this year — we could be in for one heck of a dangerous year, fire-wise.

Think about it: it’s just past the middle of March and everything is tinder-dry. Here, thanks to local photographer Dusty Veideman are some images of what quickly spiral out of control:

A line of flame races across the flats at Six Mile Saturday. Revelstoke Fire Department's Dan Hutchison said the fire began when a group of young people apparently decided to have a campfire and roast some wieners. Dusty Veideman photo
Hutchison said this was the second fire of the year. The first one was set last week but was quickly extinguished. Dusty Veideman photo
Fire fighters control the flames that consumed some of the grasslands down at Six Mile Saturday afternoon. There is very little moisture in the ground and Dan Hutchison of the Revelstoke Fire Department said it could be a very hot year, fire-wise. Dusty Veideman photo