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Tossed butt sparks backyard blaze in Oliver

Crews were able to quickly surround the fire and douse it, department spokesperson said
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Oliver Fire Department spokesperson Rob Graham said black smoke from this rural Oliver grass fire was visible from downtown at the beginning. (Oliver Daily News photo)

A cigarette tossed in a rural Oliver backyard is suspected to have sparked a small grass fire Wednesday evening.

The Oliver Fire Department responded to what was initially called a structure fire at around 5:30 p.m. Thursday, but upon arriving realized it was just a grassfire in the backyard.

“It wasn’t really a fast moving fire, or really that large, so they were able to act on it fairly quickly,” department spokesman Rob Graham said.

“From downtown, you could see some black smoke, so it was initially burning pretty good.”

But he said because of the cool temperatures, it didn’t spread so fast — that said, he added it serves as a reminder not to toss butts in grassy areas.

“It’s still very dry out there, so there’s still some potential for some grass fires,” he said.


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dustin.godfrey@pentictonwesternnews.com
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Firefighters were able to douse the backyard fire quickly, Graham said. (Oliver Daily News photo)