Se TERY ha Ee thet ee el eae fg aS ae MOET a iee rene ame eae WY at a agai __. Katasonoff, Flaming June in the forests AFTER FIGHTING five forest fires In the last two weeks the lo- cal forest service hopes the worst of the season is over. The fire danger was only clas- Sified as moderate when the blazes erupted. The most serious was a 150 hectare fire at Hault Creek in the Upper Kitimat Valiey, said Forest - | Service operations manager Erle Molt, © That one was reported Tune 23 at about 3:00 p.m. and air tankers -from Williams Lake were called in immediately, ‘ Because the fire started on a ~ Skeena Sawmills active logging _ block, fire protection officer Joe Katasonof€ explained the compa- ny was obligated under the Forest Act lo supply about 56 Sawmills workers fo Fight the fire. “Tf operations are all in com- pliance, which they were, then all , they’re obligated to supply is oc- cupational forces,”” said The rest of the costs of the fire arc covered by the forest service. “We know that through no ‘negligence some fires will start when’ there’s logging in the forest’? said Katasonoff. ‘He said the Hault Creek fire "was caused by a snapped cable in the cable-yarding logging opera- tion. The crew will continue -fo infra-red scan the area for “hot spots”. High winds on the aftemnoon the fire broke out made it difficult to - contain the fire, Holt said, adding the terrain was very steep and the walter supply limited. About 150 cubic metres of . felled and bucked timber was ‘ burmed in the fire, the equivalent of four truckloads. “It's really a blessing that that’s all we lost,’’ said Dino Diana, harvesting supervisor at Skeena Sawmills. While about 15 hectares of standing timber was effected, said Diana, some of it may still be sal- vageable. Along with the 56 Skeena Saw- mills workers fighting the fire, 60 fire fighters from three forest ser- vice unit crews and five helicop- ters were brought in. As of late last week, only Skeena Sawmills workers were on site. While the visible fire is out, said Kalasonoff, the crew will a ph ate aac Aue oo Sean ene cat chat _ alter high winds spread’ an, aban~, ’ doned campfire while the’ fourth” Joe Katasanoff continue to infra-red scan the area for ‘‘hot spots’? and put them out. He expects that the area will be totally safe by the end of this week. The second fire started late the same afternoon, June 23, at Little Oliver Creek east of Terrace. A Bell Pole crew was brushing and wesding the area at the time of the fire. “All suspicions were that the thinning operation caused the fire,”’ said Katasonoff. “It could have been a cigarette or a spark from a chainsaw.” The fire spread over eight hec- tares of second growth forest and slash piles. The Bell Pole crew was also in compliance with their permit and had proper fire-fighting equip- ment at the logging block, said Holt. A three-man initial attack crew were brought in to fight the Little Oliver fire and was later joined by the Kispiox Rainmakers unit crew and 15 Bell Pole workers. Water bombers were also brought in to blanket the area with fire retardant. Ratasonoff expected the mop- up to finish last weekend but the The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, July 6, 1994- AS forest service would continue to check the site daily. A third fire at the Cable Car subdivision near Kitimat started smile despite the hot, grimy conditions, AREA FOREST fire fighters were kept busy in the Upper Kitimat Vallet when a 150ha blaze broke out on a fogging show near Hault Creek, Above, a member of the dousing crew manages a News In Brief Terraceview deal close TERRACEVIEW LODGE employees will by the end of the month vote on a mew wage package. The BC Government Employees Union has reached a tentative agreement with the Health Employers Association on a contract which will be effective until March 31, 1996. Although no details are being released until the members have voted on the proposed deal, union negotiator Daryl Barnett con- firmed the deal includes wage increases and pay equity/job ~ security clauses, Terraceview is one of 22 long term care facilities — they employ 1,300 people — in BC which will vote on the agreement Bridge over the river Bulkley AFTER YEARS of lobbying, Hazelton residents have got a step closer lo a new bridge of the Bulkley River, Highways minister Jackie Pement — the Hazeltons are part of her riding — announced last week the province {s going to carry out preliminary design work for a new crossing which would offer an alternative to the current one-lane Hagwilget structure. However, the accent is on preliminary. ‘‘This project is a com- plex underlaking,”’ Pement explained. While she said the design Proposal would bring # second crossing closer, there was no promise of money or start date for construction. NDP MLAs agree terms NEW DEMOCRAT MLAs and the people who run their con- Stituency offices have agreed to a three year contract. The deal does not offer any immediate wage increases but there is a $400 signing bonus and a pay equity clause, Other clauses cover layoff, recall, overtime, severance pay, health and safety. The last contract of the 55 BC Government Employees union members expired Nov. 15 last year Languages broadened PROVINCIAL EXAMINATIONS in Japanese and Mandarin will be available in BC schools June of next year and Punjabi will be added in the 1996-97 school year: Other changes io be introduced by Victoria include mandatory second language instruction in Grades 3-8 and providing an op- portunity for native languages to be taught. New ferry for north WITHIN THE next three years, passengers on BC Ferries north- ¢rn route will board a new vessel. The provincial goverment announced last weelk It will replace the Queen of Prince Rupert as part of a 10 year, $800 million plan to upgrade BC Fenies. . Rodent virus reaches BC” A VIRUS carried by rats and mice has been detected in two BC men, the first reported cases in Canada. One of the two southern central interior men infected died of respiratory disease. ‘Dr. Alison Bell of the BC Centre for Disease Control said people get infected with Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome only if | they breathe in the virus from the urine, saliva or droppings of in- . fected rodents. was an escaped personal buming pile in Teckpint Piet fle { YANDERHOOF INTERNATIONAL smouldering burn pile in