Oliver firefighter urges caution after accidental grass fire

PENTICTON – A grass fire near Oliver yesterday evening has firefighters issuing a note of caution to South Okanagan residents.

Oliver Fire Department spokesperson Rob Graham says a grass fire was ignited near Seacrest Road around 8 p.m, Aug. 15, when an orchardist set off a bird scare device.

The spent cartridge landed in dry grass, igniting a fire that Graham says began moving up a hillside.

“It wasn’t really aggressive, but we did want to jump on it nonetheless,” he says.

“The fire danger is at level four, which is moderate to high,” Graham says, adding the department has had a fire ban in place most of the season.

“For farmers using bird scare guns, it might be handy to have a few gallons of water on hand,” Graham suggests, noting the scare devices are cartridges fired from a gun, that make a loud banging sound. The cartridges can still be smouldering when they hit the ground.

“Sometimes they’ll sit for a bit, other times they’ll result in a fire right away,” he says.

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