Forest Fire quickly contained

Neil Judson/The Chief

Smoke streams out of a forest fire northeast of Garibaldi Highlands Monday evening (July 20).

It’ll take a few days to get to all the hotspots, but a forest fire that caused a dramatic plume of smoke to emerge from an area northeast of Garibaldi Highlands is now entirely contained, according to Squamish Fire Rescue.

At 7:19 p.m. last night, a call came into 911 reporting the fire two kilometres from Highway 99 and just one kilometre away from the busy Alice Lake provincial campground. RCMP was called in for possible evacuation, according to Cpl. Dave Ritchie.

“They estimated 110 families in there, and two separate groups of 40 people were camping, but none of them were dislodged,” he said.

Fire Rescue immediately dispatched a fire truck and crew of eight to the site, and B.C. Coastal Fire Service sent out an initial attack crew of 10.

Although water tanker airplanes were also dispatched, water drops were not done because dense power lines overhead would’ve placed the attack crews in danger. More precise helicopter water bucketing did take place, however, and along with ground crews, the actions controlled the fire quickly.

The flames are now at ankle level, according to Coastal Fire spokesperson Starr Munro, and approximately 0.3 hectares in size.

“The fire’s not out, but there’s no risk of spread at the moment and crews are actively working on it,” she said.

The fire was located in a logging cutblock that contained piles of slash and debris logging northeast of Garibaldi Highlands, according to Fire Rescue chief Ray Saurette. There was no activity in the area, however trails run through the site.

“At this point [we suspect] human cause because we have had no lightening or weather conditions,” said Saurette.

Meanwhile, Squamish Fire Rescue today enacted a district wide campfire ban prohibiting all open fires – including those for cooking, warmth and ceremonial purposes – until further notice.

“With the current dry conditions, a carelessly tossed cigarette, sparks from a chainsaw, or a hot exhaust pipe coming in contact with dry grass, all have the potential to start a wildfire,” states a District of Squamish news release.

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