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CTV News
11 hours ago
- Climate
- CTV News
Evacuation alerts in place as crews continue to battle Squamish, B.C., wildfire
A wildfire in Squamish, B.C., is seen on Monday, June 9. (Courtesy: Squamish Fire Rescue) The District of Squamish has placed a number of properties under an evacuation alert after a wildfire broke out in the region Monday. The alert affects homes in the Brackendale area located at the east end of Depot Road, east of Highway 99 – including the campground – and at the end of Tantalus Road. In a statement released late Monday night, the district said it was issuing an alert out of an 'abundance of caution' and under guidance of the BC Wildfire Service. 'This is not a requirement to evacuate, but notice that evacuation may be required,' the statement said. If the alert progresses into an evacuation order, officials will go door to door to the homes to ensure they have been cleared, the district said. The blaze erupted Monday afternoon just east of Highway 99 between Dowad Drive and the eastern end of Depot Road. By 8 p.m., the fire, named the Dryden Creek fire, was listed as out of control and five hectares in size on the BCWS website. In an update issued just after 10 p.m. Monday, the district said the BCWS has 'actively and aggressively' attacked the wildfire by air and with ground crews. The BCWS said its service would continue until late, before returning early Tuesday morning with further attack from above. The wildfire is believed to be human-caused.
CBC
12 hours ago
- Climate
- CBC
Wildfire north of Squamish, B.C., a 'wake-up call,' resident says
A wildfire burning just north of Squamish, B.C., and close to the Sea-to-Sky Highway has put 16 properties under evacuation alert. The blaze, which is just east of the community of Brackendale and close to a number of backcountry trails, was reported in the late afternoon on Monday. Squamish Fire Rescue is taking the lead in fighting the blaze, which was measured at five hectares as of 10 p.m. on Monday. The B.C. Wildfire Service has dispatched two helicopters and an air-tanker in response. Firefighters are asking drivers in the area not to stop along the busy Sea-to-Sky Highway (Highway 99) to view the blaze, saying it poses significant risks. Those on evacuation alert are asked to prepare by arranging transportation and accommodation in case of an evacuation order and by packing essential items. Adam Levitt, who has lived in the Sea-to-Sky region for 25 years, took videos of the fire, which is on a big hill behind his house. "Everyone in the neighborhood is kind of out on the street and everyone's definitely a little bit nervous," he told CBC News on Monday night. "It's definitely early, but it's been very eerily warm here." An ongoing hot spell for the southern half of B.C. has led to temperature records being shattered. Environment Canada says high temperatures will persist into the week for the Howe Sound region, which includes Squamish. The fire is suspected to have been caused by human activity, a broad category of wildfires defined by the B.C. Wildfire Service as any blaze not caused by lightning. It is burning close to a number of trails, utility poles and cellular towers, according to Levitt. He praised the firefighting efforts that he saw on Monday, which included firefighters using hoses and helicopter crews dumping buckets of water on the blaze. The longtime Sea-to-Sky resident said wildfires have always been a concern in the region, but that they have been pretty lucky in avoiding significant activity over the years. "It sort of feels like there's an axe over our head all the time," he said. "Because ... the summers are getting hotter and drier. "Hopefully, they get this one knocked down pretty quickly and there's no real damage or anything like that, but it's a bit of a wake-up call for sure." Gordon Robinson, a fire information officer for the Coastal Fire Centre, told CBC News on Monday evening that firefighters expected warm and dry conditions to stick around until at least Wednesday. "A lot of the drying that's happened is affecting the fine fuel," he said. "So that's like the surface fuels — like grass and down needles and leaves and things like that. Those are the ones that dry out the fastest." B.C. officials told a news conference on Monday that the northeast section of the province remains the biggest concern heading into wildfire season, given the prolonged drought conditions in that region.
CTV News
a day ago
- Climate
- CTV News
Crews fighting out-of-control wildfire in Squamish, B.C.
A wildfire in Squamish, B.C., is seen on Monday, June 9. (Courtesy: Squamish Fire Rescue) Crews are fighting a wildfire in Squamish, B.C., that sparked Monday afternoon. Squamish Fire Rescue and B.C. Wildfire Service members are on-scene, and a helicopter is dropping buckets on the blaze. As of about 5:45 p.m., the fire was listed as out of control and 0.5 hectares in size on the BCWS website. It's located just east of Highway 99 between Dowad Drive and Depot Road. The agency suspects the fire was human-caused. The local fire department asked people to avoid the area and told drivers not to stop on the highway to look at the fire. The wildfire comes as an 'early season heat event' moves through southern B.C., which broke daily temperature records in several communities Sunday, including in Squamish. As of Monday evening, there were 85 wildfires burning across B.C., about half of them listed as out of control. Read more: Dry northeast 'region of greatest concern' in B.C.'s wildfire season: officials
