A couple watches the fire creeping down the hillside, but fire officials maintain the smoke is from a controlled burn that fire crews started earlier today. Photos by Lyonel Doherty
To some Oliver residents, the controlled burn on the hill doesn’t look very controlled.
Many spectators are lining Fairview Road this afternoon to watch the growing smoke coming from the Testalinden Creek fire.
The burn has been steadily creeping down the hillside, with some residents worried that it might get out of control.
But fire information officer Rosalie MacAulay told the Chronicle that today’s “controlled” burn was expected to cause a lot of smoke. She said ground crews purposely hand-torched unburned areas so that the fire would burn back on itself, creating less fuel for the blaze. She pointed out there is a guard that runs along the ridge below where the fire is now burning.
But local resident Linda Sheehy-Brownstein said it looked like an “atomic bomb” went off on the hill above Fairview. Needless to say, she was growing concerned.
MacAulay said helicopters are closely monitoring the fire, and ground crews will monitor the situation overnight. She confirmed that the previous evacuation alert is still in effect. But no evacuation orders have been reinstated.
Trees burst into flames as the blaze makes it way down the mountainside above Fairview.
Residents check out the grand spectacle from Fairview Road.
Concerned resident Linda Sheehy-Brownstein talks with fire information officer Rosalie MacAulay.
