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Wildfire on Vancouver Island expands to 85 hectares

More resources and firefighters have been sent to fight the out of control blaze northwest of Victoria
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(Photo contributed by the Coastal Fire Centre)

UPDATE: 5:15 p.m.

The Tugwell Creek wildfire near Sooke continues to burn out of control and has grown exponentially throughout the course of the day.

It now stands at 85 hectares and is not contained at all, according to Dorthe Jakobsen with the Coastal Wildfire Centre.

Earlier updates had winds fanning the flames to 10 hectares in size, then growing again to 25 hectares in size by early Wednesday afternoon.

Around 3 p.m. the B.C. Wildfire Service had updated their numbers to say the blaze was 35 hectares in size and by 5 p.m. the wildfire had more than doubled in size once again.

Officials say it’s grown significantly due to increased winds and spotting in the area.

Another 20 firefighters from Vancouver Island are enroute to help with the blaze and are expected to be on the ground by Thursday morning.

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More resources have been sent to help fight the wildfire near Sooke.

According to the Coastal Fire Centre, there are now 55 firefighters, four helicopters and a water bomber on site, along with two water tankers and other heavy equipment.

The fire is burning at Tugwell Creek, northwest of Sooke, and has increased to more than 25 hectares in size. It started out as four hectares on Sunday afternoon, doubling to more than 10 kilometres yesterday afternoon.

The Coastal Fire Centre says the jump in size is due to heavy winds. The fire was at one point considered to be 50 per cent contained, but is now back to 10 per cent contained.

READ MORE: Crews fighting wildfire near Nanaimo Lakes

Officials say there is no risk to area homes.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, but B.C. Wildfire Services suspect it was human-caused.

To report a Wildfire, please call 1-800-663-5555.



editor@sookenewsmirror.com

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