If you’ve driven along the Pat Bay Highway in the past 36 hours, you’ve likely noticed a large plume of smoke near the Keating Cross Road overpass project.
The smoke, which originated from a compost pile fire on a farm off Lochside Drive, filled the skies above Central Saanich early Wednesday morning.
Central Saanich Fire reported that the smoke remains highly visible from the Pat Bay Highway (Hwy. 17), prompting numerous calls from the public.
While the fire at the yard waste facility has been contained using perimeter sprinklers, the compost pile remains hot internally.
Fire crews are continuing to actively monitor the situation with supporting the excavators and crews on site.
Central Saanich Fire said residents should expect more smoke throughout the next couple of day.
“If members of the public want to monitor local air quality, the District has an air monitor on Fire Station 1 on Keating Cross Road, which measures these fine particles in the air. The measurements are uploaded to an online map in 10-minute intervals,” said the fire department in a Facebook post.
