Wood pile ‘self combusts’ at Sparwood Transfer Station

The Sparwood Fire Department had to attend the Sparwood Transfer Station on Tuesday (June 29) after the wood pile caught fire.

“We had two roll-off bins of wood catch fire late in the day, and were grateful for the assistance of the Sparwood firefighters in keeping the fire contained to the two affected loads,” says RDEK Solid Waste Superintendent Jim Penson.

According to the RDEK, the fire department was on site the next day to ensure that any hot-spots didn’t reignite, noting that the loads of wood “self-combusted” due to the extreme heat during the day.

According to the release, the transfer station operations were not affected, and it will be business as usual going forward.

Temperatures in Sparwood reached a high of 37.2 degrees at 4pm on Tuesday, having stayed above 30 through much of the day as most of B.C. sweltered in a multi-day heatwave.

Temperatures in Sparwood are expected to stay high through into next week, with only Sunday July 4 forecast to have a high below 30 degrees.

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