Category Archives: Forest Fires

Fire crews are working to contain two wildfires that ignited south of Port Alberni on Sunday. One of two fires, classified as the Spur 10 #1 fire, remains out of control. B.C. Wildfire says it is four hectares in size and is burning in heavy forest fuel and on steep terrain. “In the absence of lightning it is suspected to be human-caused,” said Julia Caranci, fire information officer with the Coastal Fire Centre. B.C. Wildfire crews were on scene overnight, fighting the fire with help from the Port Alberni, Cherry Creek and Sproat Lake fire departments. On Monday, B.C. Wildfire had 13 firefighters, two water tenders, an excavator and a helicopter on scene. The wildfire service said no human life or infrastructure is currently at risk, however the fire is visible to the nearby community. The second wildfire, now under control, is also suspected to be human-caused. 

Crews are battling two wildfires that sparked overnight south of Port Alberni. The fires ignited roughly a kilometre southwest of Cox Lake near a logging road called Spur 10 at around 8 p.m. Sunday. As of Monday evening, the larger of the two fires has shrunk to 3.5 hectares and remains out of control while the smaller blaze is still at 0.30 hectares in size but is under control. Both fires are suspected to be human-caused, according to the BC Wildfire Service. …Julia Caranci, fire information officer with the Coastal Fire Centre, said seven firefighters and two water tenders from the BC Wildfire Service battled the blazes overnight Sunday along with crews from the Port Alberni, Cherry Creek and Sprout Lake fire departments.

A late-season wildfire in Coquitlam’s Minnekhada Regional Park is now classified as “being held.”  The fire, first discovered on Oct. 1, spans 14 hectares in size but is no longer considered “out of control,” the Metro Vancouver Regional District said Tuesday.  The district said progress is the result of work by ground and air crews, which have allowed firefighters to lay hose lines around the fire’s perimeter and gain access to key areas of the fire zone.  Fifty personnel, including BC Wildfire Service crews and Metro Vancouver staff, remained on scene Tuesday, with helicopter support.  The park remained closed to the public and the district said pockets of fire continue to generate smoke.  The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but officials suspect it was sparked by human activity.

A regional park in Coquitlam, B.C., remains closed Monday as firefighters with the Metro Vancouver Regional District and the B.C. Wildfire Service continue to battle a brush fire that broke out Saturday afternoon. Brant Arnold-Smith, director of the MVRD’s emergency operations centre, said crews made some progress Sunday on the Minnekhada Regional Park fire — which is still listed as out of control — but are dealing with dry conditions and dangerous terrain. “The fire is quite stubborn,” he said on CBC’s The Early Edition. “Due to steep terrain, rock cliffs, falling debris, falling tress, there’s actually areas we cannot access.” Arnold-Smith says fire conditions in the Metro Vancouver region are “high to extreme” because the past few weeks have been particularly dry with very little rain.

The largest wildfire burning in B.C. this wildfire season has now been classified as “held.” Two weeks ago, the Battleship Mountain wildfire burning in B.C.’s north forced the evacuation of hundreds of homes in and around Hudson’s Hope. But Saturday, the BC Wildfire Service officially classified the massive fire as “held,” which means it’s not likely to spread beyond its current boundaries. Since it was first discovered Aug. 30, the fire has grown to about 31,775 hectares in size, just west of Hudson’s Hope. “Crews will continue to patrol control lines, mop-up and fall danger trees in hazardous areas. Smoke within the perimeter will continue to be visible for the coming weeks.” There remains 96 firefighters working on the fire, along with two helicopters and 10 pieces of heavy equipment.

A wildfire burning near Gold River has sent up a plume of smoke in the area, after growing to 120 hectares. The Coastal Fire Centre has upgraded their response from “Monitored” to “Active.” “That had been a monitored fire, because it had been burning in quite steep and inaccessible terrain,” said Julia Caranci, a Fire Information Officer with the Coastal Fire Centre. …A 20 person crew is en route to the fire to ensure it does not spread further. Though the fire is growing, it is growing away from the community of Gold River, which is about 8.5 km away from the near edge. “There’s no critical infrastructure or human life at risk at this time. It’s fair to say that since there was some growth on the fire, people will be seeing smoke,” Caranci said.

A district in northeast B.C. has lifted an evacuation order that was in place due to the nearby Battleship Mountain wildfire, as rain aided firefighters overnight on Saturday. Hudson’s Hope lifted the order at 11 a.m. on Saturday, with the Peace River Regional District also rescinding an evacuation order that was issued in early September. Orders were issued as the blaze started to show aggressive behaviour last week. It delayed the start of the school year for hundreds of children in B.C.’s Peace Region, and also led to concern for nearby dams. But on Saturday, up to 30 millimetres of rain fell on parts of the fire — slowing further growth and aiding firefighters, according to fire information officer Forrest Tower. …Tower cautions that the fire remains burning, and is likely to do so into the winter. It is currently burning over an area of 302 square kilometres, according to the B.C. Wildfire Service.

Residents of a northern B.C. town threatened by wildfire hope they will be able to return home soon. The Battleship Mountain wildfire is burning approximately eight kilometres from Hudson’s Hope — about 520 kilometres north of Prince George — and four kilometres of the W.A.C. Bennett Dam.  Diana Jewan says she is anxious to return to the place she’s called home for nearly 30 years. …The B.C. Wildfire Service says an infrared scan was done late Tuesday in an effort to confirm the perimeter of the out-of-control blaze. Fortunately for residents, the scan found barriers protecting the town and the dam are holding. “Morale is staying high,” Sarah Hall with the B.C. Wildfire Service said. “Crews are continuing to work and achieve objectives.” The southeast flank is still burning, and dry weather conditions are the main concern as winds are expected to shift direction, according to the wildfire service.

Smoke from wildfires in British Columbia, Washington and Idaho has wafted east, prompting air quality advisories from Vancouver Island into Alberta. Environment Canada is maintaining advisories for a portion of northeast B.C. and the southern half of the province and has extended air quality statements across southern Alberta. The BlueSky Canada smoke forecast map shows little relief from hazy conditions through Thursday. Wildfires contributing to the smoke include a 287-square-kilometre blaze near Hudson’s Hope in northeast B.C. that has forced more than 1,000 people from their homes. The B.C. Wildfire Service says crews are working to contain the east flank of the suspected lightning-caused fire, which threatens Hudson’s Hope as well as the W.A.C. Bennett Dam, a key power generator for the province.

More than a thousand people have been ordered out of their homes as a number of uncontrolled wildfires burn across B.C., with the flames looming over critical power infrastructure… The largest wildfire of note is Battleship Mountain in the province’s northeast which, on Monday, was estimated to be 280 square kilometres… The lightning-caused fire prompted an evacuation order for the entire community of Hudson’s Hope, northeast of Prince George, on Saturday night. …Wildfire spokesperson Sarah Hall said teams had “huge success” in controlling the Battleship Mountain fire through controlled burns, but …it is too soon to know when people might be allowed to return home. …Blazes in Hope, B.C., prompted evacuation orders and alerts, as well as the closure of the eastbound lanes of Highway 1. …Drive B.C. said the highway reopened in both directions Monday afternoon but the highway is limited to single-lane traffic and reduced speeds.

Large areas of Southern British Columbia and Alberta are under air quality advisories, as smoke from several growing forest fires blots out the sun and rains ash particles on the region. Environment Canada’s air quality health index listed Cranbrook, Squamish and Whistler as “high risk” as of late Monday morning, while the Eastern Fraser Valley region was considered “very high risk.” The risk level had lowered somewhat by Monday evening, but was forecast to be high again in Eastern Fraser Valley on Tuesday. …Environment Canada meteorologist Danielle Desjardins said it’s hard to know when the smoke will clear, because that depends on how long the wildfires last, as well as ever-changing weather patterns. …Lori Daniels, a professor at the University of British Columbia’s department of forest and conservation sciences, said the fire season continuing well into September is “a little bit unusual.”

As smoky skies fill much of British Columbia’s Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley, 191 wildfires continue to burn across the province, leading to hundreds of people on evacuation alerts, as well as evacuation orders in the Peace region. Right now, five of the active wildfires are considered notable: the Flood Falls Trail and Heather Lake wildfires in the Coastal fire centre; the Fry Creek wildfire in the Southeast fire centre; and the Battleship Mountain and Bearhole Lake wildfires in the Prince George fire centre. An air quality advisory has been issued for Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley because of high concentrations of fine particulate matter from wildfire smoke in B.C. and the United States.

• Evacuation order for Laidlaw, B.C.
• Evacuation order for Hudson’s Hope, B.C.
• Evacuation alerts remain for Eastgate
• Smoky skies prompt warning

HUDSON’S HOPE, BC — The BC Wildfire Service says a fire in British Columbia’s Peace region has grown out of control due to high winds, noting temperatures are expected to increase and no precipitation has been forecast for the area. Information officer Sarah Hall said Sunday the Battleship Mountain fire has doubled in size to 2.4 square kilometres since Friday after being sparked by lightning on Aug. 30. Dry conditions have persisted for about five weeks, she said, adding crews are working to protect critical infrastructure, including the W.A.C. Bennett Dam and a wooden bridge, while trees in danger of falling are being assessed. …A spokesman for Emergency Management BC says an estimated 1,000 people were forced to leave their homes. The wildfire service says another wildfire, about eight kilometres east of Bearhole Lake, is also classified as out of control and estimated at 63 square kilometres.

With assistance from the Courtenay Fire Department and BC Wildfire, Cumberland firefighters battled a blaze on the old Souther homestead on Wednesday, Sept. 7, successfully containing the blaze before it could spread into the forest. Cumberland Fire Chief Mike Williamson said the fire started in a shop next to the main house, and embers from the shop jumped to the main structure. Other embers were causing additional fires among the trees. “When I arrived, the flames were shooting all the way to the top of the trees,” said Williamson. “Then the stuff flying off the trees was causing other spot fires, so BC Wildfire showed up… I told them I needed them to walk through the forest and find any hot spots flaring up. They did a really good job.” An unusually windy afternoon created the potential for a devastating wildfire, as the homestead sits amidst the Cumberland Community Forest.