There was a close call for Squamish today as firefighters worked to contain another brush fire.
Early Sunday, July 27, Squamish Fire Rescue members attended a brush fire 1 km north of the Alice Lake turn-off, on the east side of Highway 99, according to Fire Chief Aaron Foote.
The fire was approximately 15 metres (five feet) from Highway 99. The blaze measured approximately five by six metres in size.
Approximately 15 firefighters were on the scene.
BC Wildfire crews arrived to help but were not needed at this event, Foote said.
Squamish Fire Rescue crews now have the fire held and will be monitoring it for a period of time.
Being held means the fire is not expected to grow.
The blaze is under investigation, and early indications are that it was human-caused, according to Foote.
“The fire danger rating for Squamish entered Level 5 today—extreme fire danger. With conditions being tinder dry, it is critical that every person demonstrate extreme caution, and call 9-1-1 immediately if they observe fire,” he added.
Squamish is currently in a recovery period after the Dryden Creek fire, which started June 9 and was declared out by the BC Wildfire Service on July 17.
At its peak, it burned close to 60 hectares.
The Dryden Creek wildfire is believed to have been human-caused. RCMP continue to ask anyone with information on how that fire started to come forward.
In Brackendale on June 16, a brush fire, believed to have been accidentally started by a dirt bike rider, was quickly extinguished.
Currently, there are 65 active wildfires in B.C.
So far this wildfire season, which started April 1, there have been 619 wildfires, burning 722,911 hectares of the province. Of all the wildfires to date, 60% have been human-caused.
