‘You could see a massive wall of flames’: Fire breaks out at log cabin yard near Williams Lake

A blaze at a log home business near Williams Lake required four fire departments and half a day to extinguish.

Flames could be seen from the highway near Williams Lake as a fire tore through the yard of a log cabin business.

At approximately noon on Monday, the Cariboo Regional District says, the 150 Mile Volunteer Fire Department responded to a blaze at Pioneer Log Homes’ construction site at Sugarcane, just outside the city of Williams Lake.

“You could see a massive wall of flames,” said Williams Lake Coun. Scott Nelson.

Nelson documented the fire from a distance and says the flames grew to an estimated 100 feet high and 600 feet long. He watched as multiple fire departments worked to suppress the fire and prevent it from leaving destruction in its wake.

“It could have been 10 times worse,” said Nelson.

The fire chief, Roger Hollander, explained that the fire battle took nearly 12 hours. The flames were put out shortly before midnight.

Hollander says the fire was contained to a pile of logs, and no structural damage or injuries were reported.

“Extremely proud of everybody who gave as much effort as possible on a hot day. It was also fairly windy, and a lot of effort was put in by these mostly volunteer fire departments,” said Hollander.

The cause remains under investigation, but B.C. Wildfire Service says that the fire is suspected to be human-caused.

The owner of Pioneer Log Homes, Bryan Reid, told CTV News over the phone on Tuesday that the fire did not originate on his property and that he is looking for answers as to what caused it to break out.

Reid wanted to thank all of the first responders for stopping the fire from spreading and destroying his business.

In a statement on social media, the company wrote that several staff members continued working through the night, moving nearby logs and monitoring the yard to ensure the fire did not reignite.

“Pioneer Log Homes is deeply grateful for everyone’s dedication and outstanding teamwork during this challenging time,” reads the post on Facebook.

On Wednesday, the Cariboo district is entering a Category 2 and 3 prohibition, including a ban on several burning activities, such as binary exploding targets, fireworks, burn barrels or cages, controlled air incinerators, air curtain burners and carbonizers.

The Cariboo Fire Centre says campfires under half a metre in height and width are still allowed for now.