A fast response to a 911 call about a brush fire at 1200 Pole Yard Road prevented a much worse conflagration from occurring, says Fire Chief Rob Girard.
“Upon arrival at Stella Jones’ Pole Yard, (shortly after receiving the call at 4:25 pm) crews found a de-barker pile on fire that threatened the mill buildings of Stella Jones,” he said. “20 Revelstoke Fire Rescue firefighters and two initial attack crews from the BC Wildfire Service battled the fire to prevent spread into buildings and the nearby forest.”
Without this united effort “…it could have been significantly different,” Girard said in a statement. “The fire department shuttled some 15 to 20 1,500-gallon-loads of water from fire hydrants in the city.
He said Stella Jones was doing a controlled burn and the wind picked up causing sparks to blow into the mill area. The fire remains under investigation and will be investigated by the CSRD’s fire coordinator because it is outside Revelstoke’s limits but within the city’s fire protection area.
Please click on the YouTube player below to view a very short, 16-second video clip from the fire, courtesy of the Fire Rescue Service.
