Forest fire near Murray River, P.E.I, contained

 Crews will remain at the scene to monitor hot spots

CBC News · Posted: Aug 08, 2020 12:49 PM AT | Last Updated: 5 hours ago

Fire crews have contained a fire that broke out near Murray River, P.E.I., on Friday afternoon.

A forest fire that broke out near Murray River Friday afternoon is contained and crews are continuing to monitor hot spots.

The fire call came around 3:30 p.m. Friday, only hours after the province's fire weather index had reached extreme or very high across Prince Edward Island. 

Crews monitoring forest fire in Murray River, hope to reopen road before dark

"The main challenges were the swampy area and the terrain," said Chris Somers, deputy chief with Murray River's fire department. 

"With the peat bog … it can go into the ground a little bit and it's really difficult to put out, to distinguish."

RCMP Const. Robert Honkoop told CBC News on Friday that the wind direction changed twice during the battle to put out the flames, adding to the difficulties.

RCMP originally posted a tweet urging the public "to use alternate routes" along Route 17 about one kilometre east of Route 4 to give crews the necessary space to work.

The road has since been reopened, say Montague RCMP. 

'Terrific support'

Somers praised the efforts of volunteers from the surrounding area in fighting the fire.

"We couldn't have put it out without them," he said. "It was just too much for our small department to handle."

The community also played a role. Somers said pizzas were delivered, sandwiches were made and even mechanics came out to ensure all equipment remained in working condition. 

"We had terrific support," he said.

Murray River Fire Chief Troy Ferguson said forestry crews are doing a sweep of the area. He said fire crews will remain on scene for the next few days.