METRO VANCOUVER - Firefighters in West Vancouver are getting frustrated by the careless cigarette disposal that’s believed to be responsible for numerous brush fires in recent weeks.

Crews were dousing hot spots Wednesday morning at the site of the most recent blaze, located just above the tollbooths at the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal. According to West Vancouver Fire and Rescue Assistant Chief Jeff Bush, the process of elimination suggests thoughtless smokers are to blame.

“Obviously the message about not discarding smoking material isn’t hitting home,” he said.

“People just either don’t care or I’m not sure what it is. It’s inconceivable to me, the carelessness.”

The latest fire was reported at about 3 p.m. on Tuesday, and when crews arrived at the scene, they discovered a blaze covering a 50’x50’ area. The flames were generally sticking close to the ground, but occasionally leapt into the trees.

“The problem that we face is that there’s no hydrants up here, so we had to … run tanker shuttles,” Bush said. The nearest hydrant was 2.5 km away.

At one point on Tuesday, all four West Vancouver engines were working on the fire, as well as a helicopter and crews from the Coastal Fire Centre.

Crews continued to battle the blaze until 10 p.m., when it became too dangerous to continue work on the steep terrain. But they were back on the job at 3:30 a.m., when multiple calls came in to report that the fire had flared up again.

A four-person crew from West Vancouver and three provincial firefighters were on the scene as of 7 a.m. Wednesday.

“We’ve basically knocked the fire down — we’re just hitting hot spots. The problem is that it’s under stumps, so it’s deep-seated,” Bush said.

“We’re trying to get under the stumps as best we can.”

May and June were extremely dry months along the south coast, and the fire danger rating for the North Shore is now set at “high,” according to the Wildfire Management Branch.

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