FIREFIGHTERS are calling for caution from hikers and other forest users after a substantial brush fire in a North Vancouver park took crews from four agencies more than 12 hours to extinguish.

District of North Vancouver firefighters were called to McCartney Creek Park near Northlands Golf Course at about 8 p.m. Sunday when passersby reported signs of a blaze. Directed by a Coastal Fire Centre helicopter, the firefighters arrived at a rocky bluff deep in the park to find a quarter hectare of woodland in flames.

The area, some distance from roads and even from walking trails, proved inaccessible to pumper trucks. Instead, the firefighters attacked the blaze with a smaller 4x4 specialized vehicle, filling it periodically from the golf course’s sprinkler system. Joined by staff from Metro Vancouver, crews worked through the night, finally bringing the fire under control at about 4 a.m.

At 8 a.m., they switched out with firefighters from the B.C. Forest Service and Coastal Fire, who continued to target spot fires throughout the day. By Monday afternoon, district crews were back on scene, finishing the job.

It’s not clear yet what sparked the blaze, but firefighters suspect it may have started in one of two makeshift fire pits they found in the burned area.

No one was injured, and no buildings were damaged in the incident, but the fire was large enough to bring down at least one large tree and leave several others unstable. Forest Service workers cut down the snags Monday.

The fire comes about two weeks after the fire hazard ratings across the North Shore were raised to “high” due to the ongoing hot weather.

“We’re probably a few days away from going to ‘extreme’,” said District of North Vancouver assistant fire chief Jim Bonneville. Under “extreme” conditions, access and activities can be restricted or denied.

The fire service has been tackling small brush fires on a regular basis since the warm weather set in, he said.

“When I was on last week for a four-day period, we had about five of them,” said Bonneville.

Most of the blazes have been next to roadways or on medians, he said, suggesting they’re likely the result of cigarettes tossed from car windows — although, he noted, about a month ago, the department responded to one in Lynn Valley that had apparently been started by exuberant students setting fire to their textbooks.

West Vancouver has similar conditions, but it has seen relatively few incidents so far this season, said deputy Fire Chief Scott Jones.

“Part of it is people are more aware of this kind of thing with education,” he said. “They take more care.”

Firefighters have posted signs in a number of parks urging visitors not to smoke on trails. They are also asking them to stay on marked paths to help reduce the chances of glass, cigarettes or other dropped items igniting leaf litter.

On July 23, the province implemented a ban on all open burning in coastal areas of the province, including the Lower Mainland. The prohibition applies to campfires, fireworks, burning barrels, even tiki torches, but excludes portable stoves. It affects Crown land, B.C. parks and other provincially administered areas.

jweldon@nsnews.com