Smoke continues wafting through downtown Squamish Friday morning and the fire remains burning on the waterfront, though is 90 per cent contained.
Huge plumes of smoke covered Squamish Thursday evening, April 16, from a fire at Squamish Terminals. The east dock of the terminals caught fire at aout 6 p.m., according to Terminal officials.
The smoke appeared behind a ship, the Star Atlantic, that was docked.
Hundreds of local people headed to Nexen Beach to view the fire.
Police, some wearing gas masks, blocked traffic and redirected people back to town for their safety. A chemical smell was in the air. Fire trucks, police and ambulance were at Squamish Terminals.
The fire likely had an electrical source, according to police on Friday morning, and there was nothing suspicious.
A shelter in place order was announced through the district. That order was lifted around 7 a.m. Friday morning.
The air quality, which had reached a high of four, meaning moderate risk, was down to two by early Friday morning, according to B.C. Air Quality Readings.
According to Vancouver Coastal Health one person was treated and released from Squamish Hospital overnight due to the smoke.
There were no injuries from the fire itself at the Terminals or on the ship according to Kim Stegeman-Lowe, vice president of administration for Squamish Terminals. For safety reasons, the day shift at the terminals has been cancelled and workers have been told to stay at home, Stegman-Lowe said.
The situation will be assessed again later in the day to determine if work will be on for the next shift this evening, she said.
As the tide goes out fire personel will be able to get under the dock and hopefully put out what reminas of the fire, Stegeman-Lowe told The Squamish Chief. As of Friday morning, the fire was 90 per cent contained, she said.
The district issued a stage 4 water advisory at about noon Friday.
"Please minimize your indoor water use and avoid outdoor water use, including lawn watering and washing vehicles. While we are not currently near capacity, implementing these restrictions will help avoid stressing our water system more than necessary," read a release from the district.
Schools are in session Friday, but children will be kept indoors and air quality reports will be checked, according to Lisa McCullough, superintendent of schools.
"Our air intake vents at our schools were off as of 3 p.m. yesterday and were remotely accessed last evening to ensure they would not open this morning," McCullough said in a media release Friday morning.
Air quality continues to be tested in the district, according to a district news release.
Some community events, including the Mayor's Breakfast being held to discuss recreation at Corsa Cycles on Friday morning, were going ahead as scheduled. Other community activities, such as trail work scheduled for mid-morning at Garibaldi Highlands Elementary were cancelled due to concerns over the outdoor air quaility, organizers say.
We will continue to update this story throughout the day.
