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: NEWS photo Paul McGrath

Treacherous terrain

NORTH VANCOUVER District Fire Department firefighters worked the ropes
Thursday morning to tackle a fire burning along a steep cliff in Capilano
River Regional Park. The job was made difficult by treacherous terrain. At
one point, a helicopter was used to drop fire retardant onto hot spots.

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Firefighters rappel

down cliff

to battle

blaze in Capilano
River Regional Park

FIREFIGHTERS WERE dispatched to North Vancouver’s
Capilano River Regioua! Park early Thursday morning to
douse a fire burning in treacherous terrain along a steep
cliff on the east bank of the Capilano River, just south of

the river’s pipeline bridge.

North Vancouver District Fire
Department firefighters fed a hose
to the fire site from trucks parked
at a nearby access road.

Another crew rigged a roping
system and rappelled down the
cliff.

Members of the ‘West Van-
couver Fire Department assisted
by acting as spotters from the
other side of the canyon to direct
the efforts of the firefighters
working from the cliff.

Emergency crews were alerted
to the fire at approximately 4 a.m.

A helicopter was used to drop
fire retardant onto the hot spots.

Mitch Sokalski, area superin-
tendent for the Greater Vancouver
Regional District’s (GVRD)
Parks-West Area, was at the
scene Thursday.

“They were using that to com-
bat the blaze. The only problem
was that they weren't able to drop
the retardant directly on the hot
spot, so that’s why they’re now
rappelling down and taking a
water hose with them,’’ he said.

A firefighting crew cut a slash
line at the top of the cliff area to
control the fire in the event that it
spread to the forest area at the
top of the cliff.

Said North Vancouver District
Fire Department Capt. Bert Batt
Thursday morning, ‘‘It started in
the canyon, and it’s worked its
way up from the base of the ciiff
to the top and along the side of it
for about i00 feet.

**Because of its location, it’s a
difficult one to get to. Subject to
no winds coming up it’s definitely
under control,’’ Batt added.

GVRD watershed management
forest fighters and GVRD Parks

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News Reporter

Department staff were among the
agencies that responded to the
fire.

The blaze may have been caused
by people in the park Wednesday
night.

Said Sokalski, ‘*As a parks
agency, we patrol the area, and
we have full-time staff in uniform
that patrol the area,

“Our staff are on in the even-
ings, but it's not uncommon to
get kids — especially this ume of
the year — in these more isolated
areas of the park. They get
together and have their little even-
ing parties and perhaps that has
been a cause here.”’

Typically the forest in the
Capilano Canyon area remains
relativety moist because of its tree
canopy cover, the river and creeks
feeding through the area and a
nightly cover of dew.

The forest is moderately dry.

But said Sokalski, *'This is ac-
tually the worst place that a fire
could take place. This is the first
fire of this size that we've had in
this park for a decade anyways.”’

The regional park attracts over
One million visitors annually.

Vehicular access to the park was
restricted Thursday morning as
emergency crews fought the fire.

About !0 years ago, West Van-
couver firefighters responded to a
ground fire near Cleveland Dam.

‘“‘That was contained very
quickly; we don’t have a perennial
problem with fires here,’* Sokalski
said.

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Weather

Friday. sunny with ¢
Sunday, mosil

High 21°C. Saturday and

sunny, Highs 22°C, Lows 13°C.

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