‘Just engulfed’: Victoria grass fire highlights risk of tinder-dry conditions

A close call involving a grass fire in Victoria is being held up as an example of how tinder-dry conditions are right now.

The flames broke out on Tuesday along the shoulder of Highway 17 near Royal Oak Drive and spread quickly.

“When we came out the grass just engulfed, the fire was impressive and it was moving fast,” said Jason Salsbury, who manages the Wildwood Outdoor Living Centre just across the street.

“That grass was dry. That whole area scorched within 15, 20 minutes. And when there was a gust of wind the flames reached about 10 feet tall quickly.”

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By chance, a vacuum truck loaded with thousands of litres of water happened to be driving past and stopped to help.

“They proceeded to do what they could before the fire department came,” said Curtis Harold, general manager of H2X contracting, which operates the truck. “Hitting it right away and knocking it down initially probably gave a lot of time and saved some of the trees as well. First response on those things is imperative.”

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Once firefighters arrived they were able to knock the flames down in about 10 minutes, without any damage to nearby buildings, Salsbury said.

The incident comes with the fire danger rating across the Capital Regional District (CRD) listed as 5, or extreme.

Just 40 kilometres to the west, BC Wildfire Service and CRD crews continue to battle the Old Man Lake fire near the Sooke Potholes Regional Park.

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That fire has grown to 169 hectares since it was discovered on Monday and has forced the park’s closure, but fire officials say the blaze is moving away from any critical infrastructure.

“I can confirm that growth on this fire is trending towards the inaccessible or unsuppressed flanks of the fire, that’s away from the community and away from those infrastructure values like the watershed,” said fire information officer Sam Bellion.

“We have crews on site around the clock and they are evaluating things like weather, fire behaviour and those local conditions to ensure they, and folks in the vicinity around them are safe to be there.”

With conditions as dry as they are, however, Salsbury said the grass fire should be a warning to everyone about how quickly fires can get out of control.

“You see it on the news, it’s always somewhere else. So when you see it across the street, it’s stark. Like we were all just in a bit of shock, especially how fast it happened,” he said. “So be smart.”

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.