A hot situation in the Castle Mountain area could have been a lot worse this weekend if it hadn’t been for the quick thinking of a group of OHV users.
Wade Nicholson is no stranger to the area, he’s been riding his quad and camping south of Lynx Creek for several years.
But his latest trip is one he won’t soon forget.
“We were lucky we stumbled upon it when we did, it could have been a lot worse,” Nicholson said.
On the way back from a quad ride to the Kootenay Pass , Nicholson says he and his friends stumbled upon a fire approximately 100 feet by 10-12 feet wide.
That’s when they sprung into action, sending two of the riders to call for help.
“We had no equipment with us whatsoever, we had some cans, water bottles,” Nicholson said. “We had to crawl probably down an eight foot embankment down to the creek to fill whatever containers we could and toss them back up to each other, to put out any hot spots.”
When they noticed an old tree had caught fire they used the one thing they did have, their quads.
One of the guys suggested they used the quads to spin dirt off the tires and were able to put out the flames.
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By the time fire crews arrived by helicopter about an hour later, Nicholson says the flames were out but the fire was still smoldering.
“You guys are heroes is what he said, I never thought of it like that I’m pretty sure anybody would have done the same thing,” Nicholson said.
From now on however, he says he will be carrying water containers on his quad, something he recommends for other riders.
Officials are still cautioning OHV users to be careful on the trails as the heat from the machines can spark fires.
They want to thank the group whose quick actions were able to stop a potentially serious situation, saying 30 per cent of all wildfires are reported by the public.
There is still a fire ban in the area with above normal temperatures and dry conditions continuing to pose a risk.
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