1 home destroyed in Vancouver Island wildfire
Fire closed an 11 km stretch of highway between Sooke and Langford for several hours
A wildfire in the Victoria area was contained within a few hours Wednesday, but not before it forced evacuations and destroyed a home.
The small house along Sooke Road in Metchosin, west of the city, was damaged by flames and water as crews fought to get the fast-moving brush fire under control.
Highway 14 was also closed for several hours. Fire officials say no people or animals were hurt.
Fire crews were called to the blaze near Kangaroo Road at around 3:30 p.m. PT.
Courtenay Wilson says he witnessed the start of the fire and directed traffic as it began.
"I come around the corner and all of a sudden I'm just seeing smoke going across the highway," Wilson said.
"As soon as I get right up to it, a cop car pulls up, and then I'm looking ahead, and now there's flames all across the side of the road.
"When I got there, the fire was just starting, but you could feel the heat. The fire was only about 10 feet away from me."
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Metchosin?src=hash">#Metchosin</a> fire crews mopping up at the brush fire that destroyed a small home next to Sooke Rd. Cause under investigation. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/yyj?src=hash">#yyj</a> <a href="https://t.co/Sh8gicikni">pic.twitter.com/Sh8gicikni</a>
—@meganTcbcHomeowner tried to fight fire
Langford Fire Chief Chris Aubrey says one man was home at the time and had to be removed from the destroyed house when his efforts to fight the fire were unsuccessful.
He says the fire was challenging because of the steep terrain and dense brush where it was sparked. A total of 31 firefighters and a helicopter were deployed against it.
One person was home when <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/metchosin?src=hash">#metchosin</a> fire started. Didn't want to leave without pets. Fire officials believe no animals or people hurt. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/yyj?src=hash">#yyj</a> <a href="https://t.co/FHFrCajRY7">pic.twitter.com/FHFrCajRY7</a>
—@meganTcbcAubrey says the fire was approximately 60 hectares in size but was quite long and narrow.
"It is a little curious that when crews arrived, Metchosin [Fire Department] reported the fire was two kilometres in length but there were about 15 to 20 spot fires," he said. "We're not sure what would have caused it."
Close call for others
Metchosin Fire Chief Stephanie Dunlop says the fire came within metres of other structures.
Water to fight the fire was also a challenge because the rural area has no hydrants.
"It was very difficult to get a grip on originally," Dunlop said. "There's no water here, so we had to bring in water."
Other fire departments were called in to shuttle water from several kilometres away.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
"There's several different rumours going around right now," Dunlop said.
"At this point in time we have not done an investigation and we don't want to speculate on how a fire like that would have started."
With files from Megan Thomas, Kirstie Hudson and Chek News