North Vancouver wildfire ‘held,’ fire danger remains high to extreme

The wildfire that popped up near Mount Seymour in the District of North Vancouver Wednesday is now ‘held’, according to the Metro Vancouver Regional District (MVRD).

In an update provided Friday morning, the MVRD said a wildfire that was found in a remote gully in the Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve just after 4:30 p.m. on July 12 is “not expected to spread under current conditions.”

“All available resources were brought in to quickly suppress the wildfire after it was first reported on Wednesday afternoon, including over a dozen aircraft,” the regional district said.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, “however, the incident serves as a critical reminder of how dry it is in our region,” the region said.

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“After weeks of unusually high temperatures and minimal precipitation, regional green spaces are tinder dry and extremely sensitive to sparks and fire. Warm, sunny, and dry conditions are expected to continue through the weekend, and there is very little rain in the long-term forecast.”

Brant Arnold-Smith, emergency operations director with the Metro Vancouver Regional District, said Wednesday that there was early evidence that the fire was sparked by a lightning strike.

“Official reports from ground crews, as well as helicopter pilots, who were first on the scene to this wildfire yesterday indicated that they saw evidence of a lightning strike on a tree. So that led us to believe that this was caused by lightning in the area. We don’t want to rush to that conclusion, we want to make sure we’re exercising our due diligence throughout the investigation and really narrow down the cause based on evidence that our firefighters and BC Wildfire Crews see on scene,” he explained.

The regional district notes that the fire danger ratings across Metro Vancouver range from high to extreme, and “the public should exercise caution when visiting these important natural areas.”

Restrictions are in place in all regional parks when it comes to smoking, cooking, and open flames, the MVRD says.

“Metro Vancouver has increased patrols and stepped up enforcement to protect natural areas in regional parks and greenways from the threat of wildfires, as well as posted new signage. Those found engaging in high-risk, prohibited activities could be subject to fines ranging from $500 to $10,000.”

–With files from Hana Mae Nassar and Chad Harris