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Delta Fire crews leave Burns Bog

Delta Fire crews have demobilized now that the Burns Bog fire is fully contained and no new areas of concern have been noted.
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Fire officials on scene taking stock of the Burns Bog Fire on July 3.

Delta Fire has confirmed that the Burns Bog fire is now fully contained and no new areas of concern have been noted.

As a result, Delta’s crews have demobilized from the bog. Apart from a small Metro Vancouver Parks patrol unit, BC Wildfire Services and Metro Vancouver Park crews have also demobilized and returned to their respective bases.

Delta Fire will liaise with Metro Vancouver Parks and coordinate an aerial scan with a thermal imaging camera this week to look for any new areas of concern.

The cause of the 78-hectare fire is still under investigation and a scientific advisory panel has been called in to visit the site and provide guidance on directing the bog’s recovery.

The fire started at approximately 11:40 am on Sunday, July 3 just west of 80 Street, east of about the 7700 block of Highway 17. Residents from across the Lower Mainland both saw and smelled the smoke coming from the fire burn- ing in Delta’s Burns Bog nature reserve on Sunday evening.

The flames grew quickly in a few hours, jumping Highway 17 and forcing the evacuation of the Tilbury industrial area. Boat traffic was also halted along the Fraser River to allow the air tankers to picked up water.

The fire drew crews from all over the region, including Richmond, Surrey, New Westminister and Metro Vancouver Parks. The BC Wildfire Service also dispatched 28 person- nel, five helicopters and two types of air tankers to help local firefighters battle the blaze. At its height, the firefighting effort included about 100 firefighters.

Fires in Burns Bog are notoriously difficult to extinguish because of the peat, and have been known to burn for days in the past.

With files from Black Press