News briefs from Squamish Fire Rescue and the RCMP:
Squamish Fire Rescue (SFR) members spent two hours fighting a fire in the Squamish Estuary Monday (Aug. 22).
The call came in at 4 p.m. after someone reported seeing smoke in the estuary area near the windsurfing spit.
Firefighter Bob Fulton said SFR members arrived at the scene to discover a fast growing blaze about one kilometre south of the Fisherman's Entrance to the Squamish River dyke.
Fulton estimated the fire was about 1,000 square feet (93 square metres). The fire was burning in the underbrush, but he said it was starting to ladder up onto the lower branches of the spruce trees. Fulton said the wind was a concern.
Additional firefighters were called to the fire along with a team of people trained to deal with forest fires.
Fulton said there was evidence campers or squatters were staying in the area. He added that it looked like the campers had been cooking using an open flame. Firefighters found the remnants of a candleholder where the fire started.
Fulton noted there is still a campfire ban applying to all crown and public land. Only private property owners and supervised campsites are permitted to have small fires for cooking or warmth.
"Be careful with any open flame or spark producing devices," said Fulton.
Head-on at Cheekye
A Saab Sport 900 and a Toyota Tacoma collided last Friday (Aug. 19) just south of the bridge in the Cheekye area.The accident happened at 8:11 p.m. near the Sunwolf Outdoor Centre on the Squamish Valley Road.
Firefighter Fulton said the people in the vehicles suffered only minor injuries and the biggest concern was the leaked fuel from the vehicles.
The road was closed for almost an hour.
Both the drivers were Squamish residents.
Squamish man charged with theft
Police last week arrested a Squamish man and charged him with theft over $5,000 in connection with a theft from an automatic teller machine (ATM) in Whistler in April.
Shawn David Lundrigan was arrested Wednesday (Aug. 17) on a number of outstanding warrants, including breach of probation, possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000, mischief, possession of property obtained by crime under $5,000 and possession of a controlled substance.
After the arrest, Whistler/Pemberton RCMP determined that Lundrigan was also a suspect in the theft of money from the ATM on April 9.
In addition to the charge for theft over $5,000, Lundrigan was charged with possession of a prohibited weapon and breaching a weapons prohibition.jfrench@squamishchief.com
