BC Wildfire Service is reporting a new small wildfire in the Squamish Valley. The fire is estimated to be .09 hectares and is close to the location of the Shovel Creek wildfire, which grew to 38 hectares before being extinguished by crews.

The new wildfire is caused by lighting, which can release enough heat to ignite a tree or other fuels, according to BC Wildfire Service. A media relations person for the BC Wildfire said there isn’t a lot of information available for this latest fire, and there isn’t any certainty about the size of fire either. More information will be as crews repond to the fire.

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Wildfire in West Vancouver grows

Meantime, the wildfire burning at Whyte Lake in West Vancouver near the Sea to Sky has now grown to three hectares. “The fire is currently estimated at three hectares in size and is highly visible to the public from many vantage points surrounding Horseshoe Bay. There have been many reports of smoke in the area visible through West Vancouver,” according to an update by BC Wildfire Service.

A BC Wildfire Service spokesperson said the wildfire service has responded with two initial attack crews via helicopter and two response officers. An airtanker team was also deployed in the early stages of response, the media relations official said. The Whyte Lake wildfire is located approximately .5 km east of Horseshoe Bay close to Highway 99.

It is classified as out of control, which means it is continuing to spread and is not responding to suppression efforts. It is suspected to be human-caused. The wildfire closed the highway though traffic is being detoured through Horseshoe Bay.

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