Crews hope to contain Richmond bog fire Saturday, extinguishing it to take days

Crews in Richmond are hoping to have a stubborn bog fire burning near the Richmond Nature Park fully contained by the end of Saturday.

Deputy Richmond fire Chief Kevin Gray said there were 60 personnel on site Saturday, including 27 members of the BC Wildfire Service, 20 Richmond firefighters and staff from the Canadian Forces 39th Battalion.

The fire is burning in a wooded area owned by the Department of National Defence.

WATCH BELOW: Richmond firefighters battling stubborn wildfire in bog lands

2:22 Richmond firefighters battling stubborn wildfire in bog lands

“We’re making some good advancements, our action plans and objectives are being met to this point. So everything we anticipated was going to happen last night happened,” said Gray.

“We’re getting a little bit of the upper hand, and our goal at the end of the day is to have a perimeter line around the fire so it’s just contained within that line.”

Fire crews initially attended the area several times overnight between Thursday and Friday due to the smell of smoke, but were unable to locate the fire.

WATCH: Bog fire spreads smoke across parts of Metro Vancouver

1:41 Bog fire spreads smoke across parts of Metro Vancouver

But in the heat of the day on Friday morning it flared up and began growing quickly. At one point, firefighters said it was spreading at 10 metres per minute.

Firefighters have been facing a variety of challenges. Initially, the fire was about 1000 feet from the nearest road, meaning crews had to carve their way into the woods to reach it, pulling long water lines.

Additionally, it is burning partially underground in peat.

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“We’re using different additives into the water to help it penetrate into the ground,” said Gray.

“Normally you can visibly see the flames, but here you visibly can’t. So we have a lot of hazards on site, lots of ash pits, burnt out holes in the ground, lots of ankle and leg injury possibilities.”

WATCH: Planes pick up water from Fraser River to battle Richmond fire

1:07 Planes pick up water from Fraser River to battle Richmond fire

As the fire grew on Friday, the BC Wildfire Service escalated its response, eventually deploying a helicopter, Bird Dog spotter plane and four skimmer planes that could be seen making passes on the Fraser River to collect water.

No air resources were deployed on Saturday.

The cause of the fire remains unknown, but Gray said there was evidence of some encampments in the wooded area. He said fire investigators and the RCMP are on scene looking into that possibility.

Gray added that the response to the fire will likely mean continued headaches for motorists in the area for some time.

“We’re going to anticipate Shell Road being closed for the next several days,” he said.

Westminster Highway was reopened to traffic around 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.

WATCH: Timelapse of smoke intensifying at Richmond bog fire

0:20 Timelapse of smoke intensifying at Richmond bog fire

BC Wildfire Service crew members are expected to finish their stint in Richmond on Saturday evening.

Gray said Richmond firefighters and Department of National Defence staff will be there for several more days trying to fully extinguish the fire.

The fire has been producing a thick plume of smoke that’s contributed to poor air quality in the region, mingling with smoke from wildfires in B.C.’s interior and some international fires.