No growth overnight for West Vancouver wildfire
Posted October 15, 2022 11:51 am.
Last Updated October 15, 2022 7:11 pm.
Crews are making progress on a wildfire burning in West Vancouver.
The Eagle Ridge wildfire, just north of Cypress Falls Park was first reported Friday morning.
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West Vancouver District Communications Director Donna Powers says the fire saw no growth overnight.
“I think the key to that is that the weather conditions have been favorable. We’ve had cold temperatures overnight and no wind. So crews have continued to fight fire at a ground level today,” she told CityNews Saturday morning. “If the weather doesn’t change, we could be moving into a sort of a mop-up state or a clean-up state as early as tomorrow. So it’s good news.”
Powers says there is no longer a need for helicopter support, allowing the shoreline for White Lake to be reopened. However, she says the Trans Canada Trail will remain closed from North Woods Drive to Eagle Lake Access Road.
The Eagle Ridge wildfire was originally listed at just over two hectares when it was discovered. The BC Wildfire Service now has the fire listed as “out of control”, burning around one hectare as of Saturday.
The Eagle Ridge wildfire (V12703) located in the #WestVancouver area, east of Horseshoe Bay, is estimated at 2 ha. 6 helicopters, crews and an officer from the #BCWildfire Service are responding with @WestVanFireDept. This fire is highly visible from the West Vancouver region. pic.twitter.com/y39HW5YvXj
— BC Wildfire Service (@BCGovFireInfo) October 14, 2022
The smoke from the fire has led to air quality advisories for Metro Vancouver, which remain in place on Saturday.
“It is pretty smoky everywhere,” Powers said. “The smoke really went down sort of at the end of the day yesterday because they started making some good progress, sort of by dinnertime by five o’clock yesterday, we noticed that there was a lot less smoke.”
B.C.’s wildfire season has been extended because of a late-season drought, which has brought warm, dry conditions to the southern part of the province throughout October.
“Never assume that if you see smoke, someone else has already called it in,” Powers advised. “We really do rely on as much early warning as possible. So again, we’re just really emphasizing for people to be careful when you’re outdoors, be responsible and if you see something, call 911.”
The BC Wildfire Service says there are 203 fires burning in the province as of Saturday morning, including 11 new ones reported over the last two days.
