Residents of the Park Ridge subdivision are grateful for the quick response of Salmon Arm firefighters to a blaze in an adjacent forested area.

Park Ridge鈥檚 Pamela Mannix said the fire was initially spotted in the forested area to the east of the 20th Street SE complex near Turner Creek by a fellow resident鈥檚 granddaughter on Friday afternoon, May 3.

鈥淲hen you鈥檙e standing there watching this fire going up a tree and starting to go to another one and they鈥檙e yelling about where鈥檚 the water and get the water down here鈥� I鈥檓 so grateful we have them,鈥� said Mannix of the Salmon Arm Fire Department. 鈥淚t could have been worse had someone not phoned.鈥�

Fire Chief Brad Shirley agreed. He said the fire department responded with five trucks around 5:17 p.m., noting firefighters had just cleared from a motor-vehicle collision so the response time was very good.

鈥淲hen crews arrived there was lots of smoke in the area鈥� so they hiked in and found a homeless camp on fire along with surrounding trees and brush,鈥� said Shirley, adding the blaze was quickly extinguished.

鈥淐ertainly it had the potential to spread 鈥� It got a little bit windy on us but not terribly,鈥� said Shirley. 鈥淚t was pretty fortunate they spotted it and called us as early as they did.鈥�

Shirley said police also responded and were investigating to determine who had been at the encampment, as no one was present when firefighters arrived.

Following suit with the Kamloops Fire Centre, the only fires currently allowed in Salmon Arm are Category 1 campfires. A ban on Category 3 fires went into effect on May 3, while the window for Category 2 fires in the city closed mid-April.

鈥淭he only thing that鈥檚 permitted now within the city are campfires and of course you need to have a permit to have a campfire and you can get those at city hall,鈥� said Shirley. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the only thing we鈥檙e allowing now.鈥�

As residents of Park Ridge did, Shirley reminded people, should they see fire or smoke not to hesitate and call 911.

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