Notable Fires
The bog has been the site of many serious fires, which can burn underground for months in the methane-rich peat. Major blazes occurred in 1977, 1990 (twice), 1994, 1996 and 2005. The 1996 fire covered Greater Vancouver in smoke and ash for two days, destroyed 170 ha (420 acres) and cost more than $200,000 to extinguish.
On September 11, 2005, a fire broke out near the south eastern edge of the bog with its smoke and ash being blown many kilometers, permeating the entire Lower Mainland and reaching all the way to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island.
By the morning of September 14, the fire had expanded to 200 ha (490 acres).
Numerous large-scale fire-fighting techniques were employed to combat the huge blaze. Firebreaks were bulldozed and dikes were used to raise the water level in the hopes of extinguishing any of the fires that can burn underground for prolonged periods. The British Columbia fire service's Air Tanker Centre dispatched a fleet of air tankers to help extinguish the blaze, including four Firecats, two Convair 580s and the Martin Mars water bombers, the world's two largest air tankers.
On September 19, the municipality of Delta announced that the fire was in the "mop-up stage". About 30 firefighters remained on the scene and were expected to begin withdrawal on Wednesday, September 21, with ongoing monitoring beyond that time.
A large fire started on May 29, 2007.
Read more about this topic: Burns Bog
Famous quotes containing the words notable and/or fires:
“Every notable advance in technique or organization has to be paid for, and in most cases the debit is more or less equivalent to the credit. Except of course when it’s more than equivalent, as it has been with universal education, for example, or wireless, or these damned aeroplanes. In which case, of course, your progress is a step backwards and downwards.”
—Aldous Huxley (1894–1963)
“When the villagers were lighting their fires beyond the horizon, I too gave notice to the various wild inhabitants of Walden vale, by a smoky streamer from my chimney, that I was awake.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)