Cause of Ellison Park fire still undetermined, drone spotted in fire zone

Jul 10, 2023 | 12:19 PM Liam Verster

The B.C. Wildfire Service says the cause of the fire that sparked in Ellison Provincial Park, south of Vernon on Sunday, remains unknown.

Taylor Shantz, an information officer for the BCWS, told Vernon Matters the cause of the fire remained undetermined as of Monday, July 10, and the cause won’t be known until an investigation is complete.

The fire sparked at approximately 12:30 p.m. Sunday, July 9, resulting in Ellison Park being “tactically evacuated.”

The fire was actioned by local firefighters, B.C. Wildfire Service members and two bucket helicopters, and a bird dog was sent out to see if air tankers would be necessary for the suppression efforts but it was decided that resource was not needed.

The 0.6 hectare fire located above the campground was considered “under control” by 4 p.m. Sunday.

Shantz told Vernon Matters a five-member BCWS team were going to the park Monday to action any hot spots.

During the course of the fire suppression efforts Sunday, the BCWS noted a drone flying in the area, which was a cause of concern for the provincial service.

“The presence of a drone near an active wildfire area can slow down or completely shut down aerial firefighting efforts due to safety concerns and they possess a significant safety risk to personnel, especially when low flying firefighting aircraft are present. If a drone was to collide with a firefighting aircraft, the consequences could be deadly,” Shantz told Vernon Matters.

“The aircraft that B.C. Wildfire uses are highly technical pieces of equipment and they can be affected by a drone. There is always the potential that it could hit it in exactly the wrong way and potentially cause a risk to human life and human safety.”

Shantz added all wildfire sites are considered to be “flight restricted” under the Canadian Aviation Regulation.

“The restricted area is within a radius of five-nautical miles around a fire and to an altitude of 3,000 feet,” Shantz explained.

“The operation of any aircraft not associated with the fire (in the restricted area) is illegal. There is a zero-tolerance for people who fly drones around active wildfires, there is no excuse for willfully disregarding the regulation. There are the potential for fines or penalties should a drone be found on a wildfire and should a person be charged.”

Shantz added boats on Okanagan Lake did not cause any complications for the firefighting efforts Sunday as only bucketing helicopters were used, though she did still advise people stay well away from active fires in the future so as to not interfere with operations.

“Any sort of boats within the vicinity of an active wildfire just means our helicopters are having to find an open spot to do their bucketing which adds time to our response.”