Wildfire sparks near Harrison Lake, north of Hot Springs

The BC Wildfire Service says a fire near Harrison Lake was discovered late Tuesday night.

The wildland firefighting service says as of Wednesday morning, the “out of control” fire is around three hectares big.

The BCWS says the fire is just on the east side of the lake, along the Harrison Lake FSR, north of Harrison Hot Springs.

The Coastal Fire Centre tells CityNews that the fire is not threatening any structures, however, it is in between some camping grounds and provincial recreation sites.

“Initial attack crew and response officer were on site overnight,” said Sam Bellion, fire information officer. “Fire behaviour was lower this morning — rank one and two, so a smouldering ground fire.”

“Today, we have 14 members of a unit crew assigned to the fire, along with two response officers, and two helicopters which are bucketing the fire,” she added.

Bellion explained that for people driving the forest service road, traffic control crews can be expected.

“This is an emergency incident and we’re still in the early stages,” she said.

According to images and information posted on social media, a vehicle may have been the cause of the fire. One image shows a vehicle engulfed in flames along the FSR, with the fire creeping up the nearby embankment.

While Bellion couldn’t confirm the cause of the fire, the BCWS does believe it to be “human-caused.”

“They’re currently evaluating and I know they’re paying quite a lot of attention to the forest service road, and making sure that it remains safe for people.”

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