Wednesday afternoon's fire at LC Gunn park was deliberately set, according to police.
Prince George RCMP are looking for information after fire management identified fires in eight to 10 different locations along the park's foot path.
The two-hectare blaze was handled jointly by Prince George Fire Rescue and the B.C. Forest service, with an air tanker brought in to make six retardant drops. Two helicopters were deployed and spent the evening scooping water from the Fraser River and dropping it on the fire.
Ground crews contained the fire by 10 p.m. Wednesday and worked Thursday to extinguish hot spots. That work will continue today by the forestry service, said deputy fire chief Blake King. The park is closed to public access.
The local crew and their provincial counterparts have an agreement that allows for the forestry service to help out, especially in tricky areas and on Crown land.
"We don't have the specialty trucks and equipment and bombers that they have and those fires are difficult to get at in those areas," said King, noting the department has a one-tonne truck with water and pumps that they can use for smaller brush fires. "In this case, that fire was growing and we weren't able to get any access and get lines and water on that fire as quick as we would have liked to."
Containing the fire was key, given the dry conditions and the neighbours such as the Prince George Airport, the youth containment centre as well as the correctional centre.
"Sometimes you get in a hurry with those wildfires because they move quickly and wind changes and weather conditions change so much with that," said King. "It's something that we were really aware of last night so we were just paying attention to what's going on and we would activate our [emergency operations centre] and get the emergency plan in place if needed."
Given the danger, setting fires in such a remote area that's difficult to access was "a careless act," said King. "Not only for the people involved fighting the fire but also for the residents and people living in the area."
Anyone with information about who or what sparked the blaze is asked to contact the Prince George RCMP at 250-561-3300 or anonymously contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-22-8477, online at www.pgcrimestoppers.bc.ca or Text-A-Tip to 274637 using keyword "pgtips."
