RICHMOND, B.C. -- Officials say a wildfire that broke out early Friday in the Vancouver suburbs presents a more hidden challenge for crews than some of the blazes burning across the rest of the province. Deputy Chief Kevin Gray of the Richmond Fire Department said on Saturday that because the fire is burning through a marshy wetland of dead plant life and moss, flames aren't necessarily visible above ground. "The fire burns down in the peat, so down around the bases of some of the roots it'll burn holes," said Gray in a phone interview. Those burnt-out roots can then create pockets in the ground called ash pits, which are well-hidden and can cause significant injuries to firefighters and anyone wandering in the area. Gray said the ground around the pits can be deceptively soft and can run very deep, adding the initial fall may not be the worst outcome. "With some ash pits we've seen them up to six feet (deep), so you can injure an ankle or a leg," he said. "Then with that fall, you fall over and put your hands into burning terrain." Other than a few cuts, bruises, and splinters, Gray said none of the 60-person crew made up of the Richmond Fire Department, BC Wildfire Service, and Canadian Armed Forces members had sustained any injuries so far. The fire's northern border is near Canadian Forces Base Colonel Sherman Armoury, and Gray said a dozen members of the Armed Forces stepped in to help the fight. Gray said weather conditions Friday night were helpful for the crews battling the blaze, allowing them to continually drench potential kindling for the fire, such as dead grass and dry wood. "We had crews off of the south end ... continuously flowing water off the street into the brush to protect any houses on the south side," said Gray. Capri Alton works at the Island Veterinary Hospital, about one kilometre away from the wildfire. She said the smoke was significantly clearer when she arrived for work Saturday morning than on Friday. "I'm looking out towards the bog right now and you can't see a distinct cloud, versus yesterday when you could see a distinct cloud of smoke," Alton said over the phone on Saturday. She said none of the animals seemed bothered by the smoke, and the only complaint the office had received was the closure of the road south of the fire, which blocked one of their entrances. Meantime, Metro Vancouver has issued an air quality advisory for eastern parts of the city and the Fraser Valley region -- although it's not directly due to the fires. "This advisory is for ground-level ozone, however there is a noticeable haze in the region which is due to a layer of wildfire smoke over the South Coast from distant wildfires burning in Eurasia and Alaska, as well as a bog fire in Richmond," a statement on the municipality's website reads. "Wildfire smoke concentrations are not causing particulate matter objectives to be exceeded." Gray said the crew is on schedule with their objectives for the fire. "Overall we're managing it quite well," he said.<doc-sep>Article content Fire crews are making some progress battling a bog fire that broke out Friday morning in a heavily wooded area of Richmond. Richmond city spokesman Ted Townsend said Saturday that four water bombers from the B.C. Wildfire Service had “knocked it down quite a bit,” and that the focus this weekend would be on battling the blaze by ground. We apologize, but this video has failed to load. tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Crews making progress on a bog fire in Richmond Back to video He said it is a challenging fire because it’s in a heavily forested area with dense peat moss. “We are making some progress and we hope to have it under control in a couple of days,” he said. The fire broke out around 6 a..m., near the Richmond Nature Park, on the Department of National Defence lands near Westminster Highway and Shell Road in Richmond. On Saturday, the fire was still estimated at about eight hectares. Townsend said it hadn’t grown overnight but there were a few spot fires that had to be extinguished. The city is reminding everyone that conditions are hot and dry, and tossing out a lit cigarette can have devastating consequences.<doc-sep>Send this page to someone via email Crews in Richmond have a bog fire that broke out overnight Thursday almost completely contained, but say it could be next weekend before it is extinguished. Deputy Richmond fire Chief Kevin Gray says crews have established a fire perimeter at a “75 per cent confidence level,” and hope to raise that to 100 per cent in the coming days. But he says the smoke pouring from the smouldering peat bog is here to stay for the time being, and crews expect to be working on the site until at least next weekend. The key challenge at this point remains getting water into the large, wooded area. “We will be planning to extend some water mains in to support our perimeter lines and from that we’ll take some more actions to get into the centre,” Gray said. Story continues below advertisement “It’s about distances, how much distance we have to move this water.” WATCH: Crews battle stubborn Richmond bog fire 2:54 More firefighters and military battle stubborn bog fire in Richmond More firefighters and military battle stubborn bog fire in Richmond – Jul 28, 2018 Gray said BC Wildfire Service crews finished their deployment at the site on Saturday night. He said 30 personnel were on site Sunday, including members from the Port Moody, Vancouver and Delta fire departments. He said knowledge that Delta crews developed fighting the 2016 Burns Bog fire, and of Vancouver crews who were deployed to fight last year’s B.C. wildfires, has been helpful. “We’re learning from those experiences,” Gray said. “Using some of that information is a very good benefit for us.” Story continues below advertisement WATCH: Bog fire spreads smoke across parts of Metro Vancouver 1:41 Bog fire spreads smoke across parts of Metro Vancouver Bog fire spreads smoke across parts of Metro Vancouver – Jul 27, 2018 As for the cause of the fire, Gray says a team of fire investigators will begin their work in earnest on Monday. He said the RCMP is also probing another possible angle. “We do have two encampments, one on the north side and one on the south side. And the known occupants of those are known to police, so they’re actively investigating them.” Shell Road and the Shell Road Trail both remain closed, and Gray is asking the public to keep their distance. Story continues below advertisement View image in full screen Richmond firefighters say the area bounded by No. 4 Rd., Alderbridge Way, Shell Road and Westminster Highway is an “active wildfire” area and strictly off limits. Google Maps The fire zone, bounded by Number Four Road, Alderbridge Way, Shell Road and Westminster Highway is also strictly off-limits to the public. Fire crews were initially called to the wooded area on a piece of Department of National Defence (DND) land overnight between Thursday and Friday, and despite smelling smoke, could not locate its source. The fire flared up in the heat of the day on Friday, growing rapidly. The BC Wildfire Service was deployed, bringing air support in the form of a helicopter, a Bird Dog spotter plane and four skimmer planes. DND staff also assisted with the firefighting efforts. WATCH: Richmond firefighters battling stubborn wildfire in bog lands 2:22 Richmond firefighters battling stubborn wildfire in bog lands Richmond firefighters battling stubborn wildfire in bog lands – Jul 27, 2018 Those planes could be seen making water pickup runs on the Fraser River on Friday. Story continues below advertisement By Saturday, crews had made significant progress and carved a path into the wooded area to try and complete a perimeter. Fire crews had hoped to completely contain the blaze by Saturday night. Crews have been dealing with difficult conditions. The fire is burning in peat, much of it underground and hard to reach – meaning firefighters have had to pump water into the ground. It has also created safety hazards, with hollow ash pockets just beneath the ground’s surface creating dangerous holes that firefighters could step into.<doc-sep>
About 60 firefighters are still battling a fire that started Friday near Richmond Nature Park by Highway 99. Richmond Fire Rescue began fighting the fire early Friday morning. Deputy Chief Kevin Gray said with assistance from B.C. Wildfire Service and the Department of National Defence, they have held the fire at 10 to 12 hectares in size. "We're making some good advancement," Gray said. "Everything we anticipated that was going to happen last night happened. So we're getting a little bit of the upper hand and the goal at the end of the day is to have a perimeter line around the fire so it's just contained within that line." Difficult conditions The area, which is heavily forested with peat soils, has been tricky for firefighters to work in. "We have a lot of hazards on site," Gray said. "There's lots of ash pits and burned out holes in the ground. Lots of ankle and leg injury possibilities." Staff are being briefed on the conditions and Gray says there have been no injuries so far. The heat is also a factor. This weekend is forecast to be the hottest of the year so far across Metro Vancouver. The fire has also shut down parts of Westminster Highway and Shell Road so crews can bring in equipment, hoses and water. Gray said he anticipates Westminster Highway will re-open Saturday, but Shell Road will be closed for the next several days. Cause still under investigation The cause of the fire is still under investigation. "Our investigators are currently working on that at the same time. A fire like this is tough. We do have [some] evidence of encampments on the property so we're looking in those areas," Gray said. He said RCMP are looking for people associated with the encampments. With files from Deb Goble ​Read more from CBC British Columbia