Tiowero:ton Volunteers Save Territory From Huge Fire

A big fire in Tiowero:ton over the weekend.  According to witnesses and volunteers, the fire broke out in a large field on Thursday at Indian Lake. According to one community member who did not wish to be identified, the blaze was in an area 500 by 500 yards and the flames reached three and four feet high. There were about two dozen volunteers who worked to extinguish the fire throughout the day on Friday and again to put out hot spots on Saturday. One person brought in a pump and 300 feet of hose to pump water from a nearby creek. Volunteers also used buckets to douse the flames. “So far so  good.  There were no injuries,” said Veronica Leborgne, the General Manager of Lands Operations at the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake. “Thanks to the response of the caretakers and community members helping to put the fire out it was contained.”

Leborgne says the nearby St-Lucie Fire department was called in, as well as the Provincial firefighting division SOPFEU, which arrived by helicopter on Saturday.  There were no injuries or property damage reported.

Kenny Phillips was one of the volunteers. He was at his cabin at about 4 pm Friday when he was alerted to the fire by a friend. Phillips then hiked about 20 minutes through the bush, lugging buckets, shovels and chainsaws, to help battle the fire.

“We just kept pouring buckets and buckets and buckets on top of the fire,” Phillips said. “It was big. It could have been worse if it didn’t rain the night before. I only got there Friday but they said it was heavy, heavy rain. You could see the creek, the creek was high. When I pulled in I said: “Oh man it must have rained heavy last night. Sure enough that’s what saved Tiowero:ton.  It would be a lot worse shape if it wasn’t for the rain and the guys, and all the volunteers that went up.”