Sea-to-Sky Highway open after West Vancouver brush fire
Posted June 28, 2023 7:33 am.
Last Updated June 28, 2023 8:04 am.
You are free and clear to use the Sea to Sky Highway (Highway 99) through Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver again as a wildfire that had the road closed is now contained.
The BC Wildfire Service has the Whyte Lake Fire listed as “under control” as of Tuesday afternoon after it was first discovered the day prior. The fire led to the closure of the main highway leading up to Whistler for about a day.
Read More: ‘A very good night,’ West Vancouver brush fire held, fire department says
In the province’s overall wildfire outlook, however, things could start getting bad.
CityNews meteorologist Michael Kuss says this June has seen a particular lack of precipitation.
“We’ve only seen less than 20 millimetres of rain in June — the driest since 2015 — and not much expected in the short range. We’re heading into our two driest months of the year and with conditions already well below normal as far as precipitation is concerned, it will be a particularly tough fire season,” he said.
“We can often get a fair amount of precipitation in May and June but that definitely hasn’t been the case this year. We’re around 35 mm for those two months. Normals are usually around 120 mm.”
A few weeks ago, the BC Wildfire Service the severity of the summer fire season would likely be determined by the amount of rain we get this spring. After some dry spells last October and again in May, forecasters anticipated a “challenging” fire season.
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Kuss says those trends will only continue heading into the long weekend.
“After some cooler weather over the past week, week and a half, we’re right back to dry, hot conditions heading into the weekend and early next week as well,” he noted.
As of Wednesday morning, there are 98 active wildfires burning in B.C. That includes the Donnie Creek wildfire, which is the largest blaze in the province’s history, and could potentially burn into next winter.
Most of the province is under at least a “moderate” fire danger rating heading into the long weekend, with around two-thirds seeing a danger rating of “high.”
-With files from Charlie Carey and Emily Marsten
