Wildfire in North Vancouver on Mount Seymour

A new wildfire has popped up in B.C., this time on Mount Seymour in the District of North Vancouver.

The BC Wildfire Service had the fire listed on its website as 0.3 hectares in size as of 7 p.m. Wednesday.

According to the service, the fire was discovered just after 4:15 p.m. It is located east of the Seymour River.

Brant Arnold-Smith, the director of the Metro Vancouver Emergency Operations Center, says the fire is responding to suppression efforts.

Nice work by @BCGovFireInfo crews hitting it with helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft over the last hour, smoke has dissipated significantly. @CityNewsVAN @CityNewsTraffichttps://t.co/WZZR1YIdmC (Video does not have audio) pic.twitter.com/Qjjj80iI9w

— Chad Harris (@ChadHarrisTV) July 13, 2023

Arnold-Smith says 12 different types of aircraft were utilized Wednesday evening to help tackle the fire, and the plan is to return to the area on Thursday.

Ground crews also hiked into the area, and will remain overnight, the regional district confirmed.

Significant aerial and ground resources have been brought in to suppress a wildfire in the LSCR. Thanks to the diligent work of response crews, good progress was made and the fire has responded to suppression efforts and is not spreading. pic.twitter.com/nBwBYZq9Bh

— MVRD Emergency Services (@metrovanemerg) July 13, 2023

“It is concerning when we see a fire of this magnitude, in the Lower Mainland, especially the North Shore,” Arnold-Smith said.

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Smoke was visible from around the region, including Burnaby and Vancouver.

The cause of the fire is not yet known, with crews saying the cause is still being investigated. The fire continues to be listed by the BC Wildfire Service as out of control.

“Wildfire investigations often take time and can be very complex. Investigations may be carried out by one or more agencies, including the BC Wildfire Service, the Compliance and Enforcement Branch, the RCMP, or other law enforcement agencies, and may be cross-jurisdictional,” the service said on its website Wednesday night.

Airspace has now been restricted as water bombers deal with the wildfire . @citynewstraffic #wildfire2023 pic.twitter.com/f0veSzm39o

— Danger On Air (@DangerOnAir) July 13, 2023

Officials say the fire was in an area described as a secluded gully, adding no structures are currently at risk.

They add the region is experiencing high to extreme fire dangers.

Lightning is the suspected cause of eight fires sparked around Whistler and Pemberton Wednesday.

They are among the 44 new wildfires around B.C. in the last 24 hours, mostly in the province’s interior.

The chair of the Bulkley-Nechako Regional District — spanning more than 70,000 square kilometres — says the lightning and dry conditions have “compounded things immensely.”

Conditions have caused at least 12 new evacuation orders or alerts across B.C. since Tuesday.

The BC Wildfire Service says there are currently 347 active fires in the province, with 228 of them listed as “out of control.”

-With files from David Nadalini