A water tender used to fight rural fires was stolen from the Horne Lake community last week.
Horne Lake manager Murray Hamilton said the water tender trailer was last seen Feb. 7.
“We found it was missing last Thursday, Feb. 8. It was on site in its normal location on Feb. 7 and was discovered missing around noon on Feb. 8,” Hamilton told The NEWS.
The stolen tender, Tender No. 30, was located in a shelter across from lot 20 on Horne Lake Caves Road. The licence number is UHH 01K.
Hamilton said if the tender isn’t located it could cost $7,500 to $8,000 to replace. He said the tender was custom-made for the community.
The Horne Lake community, Hamilton said, is an unprotected area so the water tender is for the owners’ use in case of a fire emergency.
“(The trailer) is chained in place, but the owners of the lake have access to it should they need it for fire protection if their cottage (catches fire) or if a forest fire was happening,” said Hamilton, adding that the lock securing the tender was “breached.”
According to the Bow Horn Bay VFD Facebook page, the water tender is a trailer that’s part of the community’s firefighting equipment, which helps protect residences around Horne Lake.
“Its loss compromises the effectiveness of firefighting efforts for that community,” reads the Bow Horn Bay VFD Facebook post.
Hamilton said he received an anonymous call from a person in Qualicum Beach who reported seeing the stolen water tender in Qualicum Beach the day it went missing.
“That is the only information I have; that was reported back to the RCMP,” he said.
People are asked to contact Oceanside RCMP at 250-248-6111 if they have any information on the stolen water tender, or to contact Hamilton at 250-951-0877.