Bush fires lead to ban

2018-05-222018-06-06 Liz Draper 172 Views topstory

Firefighters from the Thorne and Otter Lake Fire Departments worked with the crew from SOPFEU to extinguish two forest fires on May 14. Pictured, a SOPFEU water bomber scoops up water from Clark Lake in the late afternoon.

Donald Teuma-Castelletti
THORNE May 14, 2018
An afternoon fire in Thorne spread its destruction quickly, rapidly consuming 15 acres before being brought under control on May 14.
The Thorne Fire Department received the call at 2:35 p.m., and firefighters were on the scene at 929 Route 366, east of Ladysmith, shortly after.
Consuming a shed and garage on the property, Thorne Fire Chief Daniel Ladouceur said that while they’re without a definite answer to the cause, there was a strong theory stemming from sparks produced by a heater.
“Probably particles from there, with high winds that day, touched the ground where the leaves were dry at the back of the yard,” said Ladouceur. “Then it circled around, and it hit the shed, and then the garage, and of course it kept going towards the mountain, and that’s why there’s 15 acres that burnt.”
Soon after the Thorne department arrived, the Otter Lake Fire Department joined them to provide assistance.
“There were approximately 17-18 firefighters that worked from around 2:30, until the last crew left around 8 p.m.,” he continued. “When we got there half the garage was burnt, so we couldn’t save it. Our main thought was to protect the two other houses, and that’s what we did, so we got the job accomplished.”

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