Smoke Covers Squamish Valley as Wildfire Rages

The BC Wildfire Management Branch is battling a wildfire in the Elaho Valley, located 67 kilometres west of Pemberton.

Smoke from the fire is already drifting to the Squamish/Pemberton valley and residents in the area may continue to see smoke as Wildfire Management Branch crews work to suppress the fire. The fire currently covers an estimated 15 hectares and was human-caused, but it does not appear to originate from industrial activity.

Local smoke in the Squamish Valley #bcstorm pic.twitter.com/WUeiovHtxO

— Squamish weather (@Squamishweather) June 15, 2015

There are currently 22 firefighters, two helicopters, and two fallers working on the fire. The public is reminded that campfires are the only open fires currently allowed within the Coastal Fire Centre's jurisdictional area. Campfires may not be larger than 0.5 metres wide by 0.5 metres high and can only be used for recreational purposes. Any other type of open fire is currently illegal within the Coastal Fire Centre's jurisdiction.

The Coastal Fire Centre covers all of the area west of the height of land on the Coast Mountain Range from the U.S.-Canada border at Manning Park, including Tweedsmuir South Provincial Park in the north, the Sunshine Coast, the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands, and Haida Gwaii.