Ottawa subterranean blaze- pete flammable after summer drought- CTV News video n transcript at Heating Planet blog

"We've been here 40 years and that's never been the case. The fire now burns underground and it jumps and it gets into the bog." The forest is mostly a bog, a wet marshy area packed with pete, which is now flammable after a summer drought. blaze burning dangerously underground. WATCH Sep 24 report- North Dundas forest fire continues to burn-   CTV News Well, firefighters have managed to 0:01 battle back against a wildfire burning 0:03 just outside our city. It's still out of 0:05 control, but significantly reduced in 0:08 size overnight. A state of emergency in 0:10 North Dundas Township is still in place 0:12 as crews arrive from Ottawa and Cornwall 0:15 to help contain the blaze burning 0:17 dangerously underground. The fire is 0:20 burning about 50 minutes south of Ottawa 0:21 in Alvin Reynolds Forest near Morwood. 0:24 CTV's Tyler Fleming reports from the 0:27 scene. 0:28 A large-scale fire is tearing through 0:30 this forest and controlling it hasn't 0:33 been easy. 0:34 It's accessible really only by ATVs and 0:36 quads. 0:37 The fire broke out Sunday night at Alvin 0:39 Reynolds Forest near Morwood. Flames 0:42 breached treetops smoke times 0:46 and it was like whoa. Okay, that's a 0:48 little closer than we thought. 0:49 Our property goes right back to the road 0:51 that they're fighting the fire on. 0:52 Nearby residents Jeff and Diane Egggan 0:55 say the forest is mostly a bog, a wet 0:57 marshy area packed with pete, which is 1:00 now flammable after a summer drought. 1:02 We've been here almost 40 years and 1:05 that's never been the case. 1:06 And it's a major problem. The fire now 1:09 burns underground 1:10 and if it jumps and it gets into the 1:11 bog, then it's got to come up to the up 1:14 the fields. 1:15 Rain along with ongoing firefighting 1:17 efforts have shrunk the wildfire from 1:19 100 acres to about 10. And while homes 1:22 are not at risk, a state of emergency 1:25 has been declared. 1:26 I anticipate for two or three more days 1:29 until there's a high level of comfort 1:30 that this is under control. 1:32 One of the biggest challenges for 1:34 firefighters battling this now 1:36 underground blaze water. They have to 1:39 truck it in. It goes into these massive 1:41 hoppers into the pumper truck and then 1:45 down across these lines 1:48 500 meters into the forest 1:51 with small pumps. We're pumping water 1:52 into the into the burn site. 1:55 Surrounding regions including Ottawa and 1:57 Cornwall have offered to help the team 1:59 of dedicated volunteer fire crews. 2:01 We have a great team and the uh the 2:03 community has really come together to 2:05 support us as well. 2:06 Coming rain could help, but the forest 2:08 remains tender dry. Police are 2:10 investigating the cause as firefighters 2:13 battle the subterranean blaze. 2:15 It's a big job to maintain, but 2:18 we certainly like to thank them very 2:19 much for the the hard work that they're 2:21 putting in and, you know, they're, you 2:23 know, they're risking their lives, too. 2:24 Tyler Fleming, CTV News, Norwood. 2:29 And we have extended coverage of the 2:30 wildfire in North Dundas Township. There 2:33 are more stories online at 2:34 ctvautoawa.ca. 2:36 CA.