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Colwood park brush fire believed to be human-caused

Firefighters expect more calls for August long weekend
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Colwood Fire Department believes a brush fire in Havenwood Park on Saturday, July 18, was human-caused. (Black Press Media file photo)

As summer heats up, Colwood Fire Rescue is expecting to head out to more calls, both natural and human-caused.

The latter was the case in a public park over the weekend, according to Assistant Chief Greg Chow.

“If you smell smoke, don’t think that it’s nothing,” Chow said. “Please be very careful when you go out because the weather is getting dryer. It’s better that … it’s a false alarm rather than finding out hours later and it’s grown out of control.”

On Saturday, July 18, firefighters were called to Colwood’s Havenwood Park along Veteran’s Memorial Parkway around 11:30 p.m. to a 30-by-50 foot area of brush ablaze. Twelve crew members spent two-and-a-half hours extinguishing the fire.

Chow believes it was human-caused, as it was about 100 feet off the trail with no obvious cause. When crews arrived the fire had begun to spread into the trees.

Notably, Colwood assisted with a large brush fire that ended up covering around 1.5 hectares in Langford in late April. Chow expects to see a spike in fires during the August long weekend.

READ MORE: UPDATED: Langford brush fire caused by workplace accident

ALSO READ: Fire departments urge West Shore residents to be fire smart as wildfire season begins


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aaron.guillen@goldstreamgazette.com