As August draws to a close so does one of the quieter wildfire seasons seen locally for some years.

Since April 1 the Southeast Fire Centre has seen a total of 209 fires, which have burned 1,209 hectares. Both figures are down considerably from the summer of 2009, when there had been 443 fires by this time that had burned through 3,579 hectares.

One fire of note in the Southeast Fire Centre is the Nine Bay Lake Fire, 35 km southeast of Golden. The fire is burning in a remote area and not threatening any communities but one rustic cabin has been reported lost in the fire while another uninhabited structure remains undamaged and is being kept safe with sprinkler protection.

Recent cool temperatures have assisted fire suppression efforts on the 680-hectare fire and it is now 60 per cent contained. The fire was reported Thursday, Aug. 26 and is under investigation. As of Sunday, 111 personnel, seven helicopters and seven pieces of heavy equipment were working on the fire.

As of August 22 the Southeast Fire Centre had a total of 513 personnel assisting other fire centres within B.C. They include 340 personnel contractors, 100 unit crews, 15 IA crews, 32 single resources, 21 partnership staff and five stat hires.

Of this year’s fires, 50 have been caused by people and 159 fires have been lightning caused. In 2009 at this time, of the 434 fires 82 were caused by people and 352 were caused by lightning. In 2008 there had been 499 fires by this time and people had caused 98 and 401 were created by lightning.

All open fires are prohibited throughout the Southeast Fire Centre, fireworks and burning barrels included. Currently there is no campfire ban for the area. Campfires must be small than 0.5 metres by 0.5 metres and campers are required to have a shovel or at least eight litres of water nearby to extinguish their campfire and have a fuel-free zone and barrier around it.

Almost half of all fires in B.C. are reported by the public so if you see smoke or flames call 1-800-663-5555 or dial *5555 on most cellular networks. For further information visit the B.C. Wildfire management Branch website at www.bcwildfire.ca.