Wildfire discovered in North Vancouver’s Lynn Canyon

District of North Vancouver fire crews made quick work to try and douse a wildfire that was discovered Monday night in the Lynn Canyon area.

Mathew Bond, a former district city councillor, tells CityNews he started to notice a “thick layer of smoke” in the area of his home in the Seylynn neighbourhood around 11 p.m.

“I went out on my e-bike … to see where the smoke was coming from and had this feeling it was coming from in the canyon. So I followed the smoke up the canyon, got off my bike and hiked up the trail, and found the fire about a kilometre up in the bush,” he explained Tuesday morning.

“Obviously I was mostly concerned about the smoke and the source of the fire — it is close to home and the canyon’s one of the most beautiful parks in our region. I was immediately concerned, and that’s why I went out and tried to find out what was going on.”

Bond says he ran into some of the firefighters dispatched to the scene before stumbling upon the fire, adding he was quick to call for help when he did find the location of the blaze.

“They were looking for the smoke at the same time along the way, but they headed off in a different direction and I headed off in another one and I was the one who found the fire first, so I called 911 right after that and they got their crew out there in about a half an hour just by hiking in the bush,” he said.

Speaking with CityNews just after 9 a.m., District of North Vancouver Assistant Fire Chief Scott Ferguson said the fire was about 40 feet wide and 100 feet long.

He adds the fire is “on the side of a cliff,” making access challenging.

“We have Metro Vancouver and ourselves on scene and we’re working together to extinguish this fire. At this point, it is contained. We’re just mopping up and hitting hot spots,” he explained.

District of North Vancouver fire crews were called to the Lynn Canyon area late on July 17, 2023, for a wildfire. (Courtesy District of North Vancouver Fire and Rescue)

Due to the location of the fire, Ferguson says some crew members are being lowered on rope systems to be able to get a better angle to fight the fire.

“There’s still hot spots growing that we can’t get at this point because they’re at the side of a cliff,” he said.

“There’s a lot of dead stumps and brush and deep-rooted duff, so when the fire burns down into it we’ll get hot embers in there and when the wind comes up, it’ll actually start a little flame. So we have people on scene just keeping an eye on that.”

Ferguson is giving Bond credit for his quick action, saying the former councillor was “a big help” and adding Bond called crews directly when he found the location of the fire.

“Immediately we came up to this area and we started working on the fire. It saved us a lot of time,” Ferguson said.

District of North Vancouver fire crews were called to the Lynn Canyon area late on July 17, 2023, for a wildfire. (Courtesy District of North Vancouver Fire and Rescue)

This is not the first wildfire to erupt on the North Shore in recent weeks. The Seymour River fire, which was discovered on July 12, continues to burn with a current estimated size of 0.3 hectares. It is currently listed as “under control.”

Bond says the proximity of this latest fire to his own community really “brings the threat and realization of wildfires and climate change a lot closer to home.”

“If I was giving anyone my advice, it would be just to be vigilant. If you smell smoke, always go investigate. It’s really important just to find out the source. Obviously, be safe, and follow the rules while you’re in the woods around smoking and not having any fires.”

Ferguson says this fire is just more proof of what conditions are like across the region.

“Very dry at this point. The fire danger rating right now is set at high and our forests are very dry, so we’re always trying to educate people to be as safe as they can in our forested areas and around their homes to make sure this doesn’t happen,” he explained.

The cause of the Lynn Canyon fire is not yet known. People are being asked to avoid the area so crews can continue their work.