Four Nanaimo Fire Rescue crews were able to gain the upper hand on a fire that almost got out of control in the Harewood area Friday afternoon.
#Fire in Harewood in #Nanaimo 100 per cent contained, says @NanaimoFire . An image of it when it was at its height. pic.twitter.com/RpLYV9g6SS
— Karl Yu (@KarlYuBulletin) August 22, 2015
The two-hectare blaze, which occurred on a vacant field in the Fourth Street and Watfield Avenue area, was reported at 1:14 p.m. and led to the precautionary evacuations of three houses. It was 100 per cent contained by about 3:45 p.m.
Karen Lindsay, City of Nanaimo emergency program manager, said the crew remained on the scene for mop up and hot spot monitoring afterwards, but people were all able to return to their homes.
She said she couldn't comment on the cause, or if it was suspicious, as fire prevention officers still had to conduct their investigation.
Nanette Hoskins, Fourth Street resident and one of the evacuees, was about to begin a shift at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital when she was notified about the fire by her son.
She rushed back home to recover some valuables and was very complimentary of the firefighters
“I didn't go any further over ... I wanted to stay out of their way, so I didn't see a lot of the action, but they were very professional, very polite, I'm not sure what else to expect from a firefighter. They were on it,” said Hoskins.
With little rain over the past few months and dry conditions, the situation could've been worse, according to Lindsay.
“The challenge was there was an interface, a lot of homes that were bordering it, so they threw all the resources they could ... the wind conditions, it was very, very windy today, so we saw it moving very, very quickly,” said Lindsay.
