Chip Pile Fire Takes Patience

The CAFD responded to a report of a small fire in a chip pile at Carlson Timber in Scanlon on Wednesday afternoon at 13:50.  Battalion 3 and Engine 31 responded along with Chief 1 who was nearby when the call was dispatched.  Upon arrival staff was met with a wood chip pile that was well over 30 feet tall, 400 feet long and 200 feet wide.  The pile had slight smoke and flames showing from the rear edge in approximately the middle of the pile. 

Upon investigation it was found to be a deep seated fire within the interior of the pile that had slowly burned its way to the outside edge over a period of days.  Chief 1 was Incident Command while Battalion 3 assumed Operations.   Command requested additional resources and Tanker 21 responded along with mutual aid tankers from the Esko and Carlton Fire Departments.  With the assistance of the Carlson Timber staff and their heavy equipment, an access road was cleared around the rear of the pile and unburned material was removed and trucked to a remote site.  The removal of the material uncovered the fire which had consumed a large portion of the interior of the pile.

CAFD crews stretched handlines to the rear of the piles and extinguished the fire as Carlson uncovered the material.  17,000 gallons of water were transported by the tankers and applied along with a foam solution to the burning pile.  All resources were clear of the scene by 18:15.