Crews stand down in Burns Bog fire near Vancouver

DELTA, B.C. – Crews working for the fire department in Delta, B.C., are withdrawing from an ecologically sensitive bog more than a week after it caught fire.

Delta Fire says the fire in Burns Bog is fully contained and crews from the B.C. Wildfire Service have also left the area.

The fire department says it will work with Metro Vancouver Parks and co-ordinate an aerial scan using a thermal imaging camera this week to look for any areas of concern.

READ MORE: Burns Bog fire: How bog fires burn and why they’re difficult to combat

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but fire Chief Dan Copeland said last week that weather is not considered a factor.

The fire began July 3 and scorched 78 hectares.

Most of Burns Bog is closed to the public, but an area of about 60 hectares called the Delta Nature Reserve is open for viewing.

The 30-square-kilometre bog is a migratory route for a variety of birds and it is believed to be the largest undeveloped urban wilderness area in North America.

The bog’s acidic, peat-forming ecosystem includes rare plants, such as cloudberries and velvet-leafed blueberries, and a diverse collection of insect species.