Wildfire live updates: Blueberry Mountain evacuation order expanded
Rain overnight in Calgary did little to clear the wildfire smoke affecting the city, leading to an air quality warning early Thursday morning.
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Environment and Climate Change Canada cancelled the air quality warning mid-morning, but a special air quality statement remains as the agency is forecasting air quality to be moderate risk throughout the day. Experts explain how the warnings work and what harmful impact smoke can have on human health.
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Alberta Wildfire is hopeful more rain and cooler weather in the forecast is expected to aid firefighting efforts.
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Fire bans remain in effect for a large part of Alberta, including in all of Rocky View County, as six of the province's forest areas are considered to be at extreme wildfire risk.
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As of Thursday afternoon, there were 57 fires burning in the province, with 23 of them classified as out of control. More than 645,000 hectares have burned in Alberta so far in 2025.
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Fire personnel and aircraft from British Columbia, Yukon, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Washington State, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Hawaii have arrived in Alberta to assist with battling out-of-control blazes. Firefighters and support staff from Australia have also arrived in the province.
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Squamish RCMP issued a public appeal Thursday morning for help in their investigation into the cause of a wildfire in the Dryden Creek area that has put some Squamish residents on evacuation alert and closed a provincial park.
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CTV News
2 hours ago
- CTV News
Squamish, B.C., reports progress in fire fight, as northeast hopes for rain
Smoke from the Dryden Creek Wildfire, is shown just north of Squamish, B.C., Wednesday, June 11, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Tijana Martin There's optimism from firefighters and local authorities as crews battle blazes in opposite corners of British Columbia heading into the weekend. The District of Squamish is reporting minimal overnight growth in the Dryden Creek fire that triggered a local state of emergency this week, while the BC Wildfire Service expects rain to help suppress the Pocket Knife Creek wildfire in the northeast. That fire is the biggest in the province at more than 1,500 square kilometres, and the wildfire service says it has grown significantly since merging with another fire on Sunday. BC Wildfire Service information officer Julia Caranci says in a video update on social media on Thursday that anticipated rain could aid in suppression efforts this weekend. She says she's hopeful the rain will help, although the fire has a large perimeter and it remains to be seen how much the rain affects fire behaviour. The fire looming over Squamish, north of Vancouver, has grown to nearly 60 hectares in size, with the district reporting that crews made 'strong progress' on the southwestern flanks, while aviation crews focused on bucketing the northern edge. The district says in a posting to social media late Thursday that the fire spread on the northern side from 'steep, inoperable terrain into more accessible areas, allowing crews to engage more directly in suppression efforts.' The Squamish fire is among 100 blazes actively burning across the province. There are three wildfires of note, the Pocket Knife Creek, the Kiskatinaw River fire and the Summit Lake fire, all in the northeast where most of the province's fire activity is concentrated. This report by Brieanna Charlebois, The Canadian Press, was first published June 13, 2025.
CTV News
15 hours ago
- CTV News
Park evacuated as Squamish fire grows
Vancouver Watch An out-of-control wildfire near Squamish has nearly tripled in size since it was first discovered Monday afternoon.
CBC
18 hours ago
- CBC
B.C. provincial park evacuated, RCMP appeal for info on Squamish wildfire
The mayor of Squamish, B.C., said he knew it was a stressful time for residents, as an out-of-control wildfire burns in hills above the community where a local state of emergency was declared this week. But Armand Hurford said crews are making good progress and the community about 50 kilometres north of Vancouver is not in immediate danger. "It's alarming language, [but] it's an important tool," he said of the emergency declaration at a briefing on Thursday. "The town is functioning. Kids are going to school, the buses are running on time, the cafés are busy, and this isn't a situation at this time where the town at large is in danger." The Dryden Creek fire was just five hectares in size on Tuesday when the District of Squamish declared the emergency. It had reached 59 hectares by Thursday, nearly tripling in size from the day before when it got within about 40 metres of homes. Aaron Foote, the chief of Squamish Fire Rescue, said at Thursday's briefing that crews had been installing structural protection on homes closest to the wildfire, but the fight had "gone very favourably overnight." He said command of the fire fight would be transferred from his department to the B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) in the days ahead. The district said the BCWS and Squamish Fire Rescue had recommended the closure of Alice Lake Provincial Park and an evacuation order was issued. In a statement to CBC News, B.C. Parks said staff helped more than 80 camping parties leave the park following the closure. The district said in a social media post late Wednesday that the fire was not actively threatening park facilities but was growing toward access routes and the smoke had resulted in reduced visibility. The district later said visibility had improved, allowing helicopters to begin bucketing Thursday morning. The Squamish Nation said in a post that it had removed all valuable items from the Alice Lake long house as a precautionary measure. The BCWS said the fire is suspected to be human caused, which led to a police investigation and a Squamish RCMP appeal for information. The Mounties said in a news release that they were informed of smoke on the hillside at the end of Tantalus Road on Monday around 5:30 p.m. But they say it is believed to have been started around 4 p.m. that day on a bike trail, so officers are asking anyone with information about the fire to contact police. The Squamish fire is one of about 100 wildfires burning throughout B.C., most of which are in the province's northeast.
