West Kelowna grass fire sparked by cigarette

WEST KELOWNA–A late afternoon grass fire on Old Okanagan Highway was sparked by a dropped cigarette.
Fire crews were called to the scene, behind the Johnson Bentley Memorial Aquatic Centre, around 5:45 Wednesday afternoon.
Cpt. Trevor Bredin says the windy conditions made it tougher to extinguish the blaze.
“It is fairly windy and dry, it could have got away quick”, explains Cpt. Bredin.
He says people were in the area, when one dropped a cigarette, starting the fire.
They tried to put it out, but it got away on them, because of the wind.
Luckily, the four pumpers and eight firefighters were able to get a handle on the grass fire fairly quickly.
The fire department is reminding people that even after a long, wet, winter, it doesn’t take long for fuels to dry out, and the public must be careful.