Popkum Fire douses dome structure fire at gravel pit east of Chilliwack early Saturday
CHILLIWACK — Multiple fire crews from the rural Popkum Fire Department were dispatched around midnight Saturday (Mar. 16) for what was later determined to be a working fire inside a dome structure at a sand and gravel pit near Highway 9 and Cheam First Nation.
According to scanner transmission overnight, Popkum firefighters were called to the area of Highway 9 and Victor Drive near Cheam First Nation for a possible structure fire after a single caller contacted dispatch, saying the fire was near that intersection. Popkum fire crews responding to the area didn’t immediately find the fire as they were advised to meet a reporting party in a white vehicle on Victor Drive. They were then led to an area where Popkum fire personnel discovered a working fire inside a dome structure in a gravel pit.
The exact address of the fire was not disclosed during scanner transmission, but Popkum fire crews radioed dispatch to say the fire was at an old sand and gravel pit just before the Highway 9 bridge leading to Agassiz. Firefighters said they’d have to access the fire by going through Cheam First Nation reserve land.
Firefighters worked quickly to vanquish the fire, notifying dispatch at 12:31 a.m. the fire had been struck. A primary search had been conducted, and firefighters planned to conduct a secondary search before going into overhaul mode.
