Photo Courtesy: BC Wildfire

Photo Courtesy: BC Wildfire
Photo Courtesy: BC Wildfire

Vancouver: A fire discovered burning in slash and brush about 20 kilometres north of Harrison Hot Springs Sunday afternoon was started by humans, and has grown to estimated 650 hectares.
About 135 firefighters are working on the fire with nine helicopters and heavy machinery. Fixed wing air tanker groups dropped retardant, and one air tanker dropped water throughout the afternoon of Aug 2 to slow its growth and lower fire behaviour. Air tankers, including the famed Martin Mars bomber, attacked the blaze Sunday, dropping water and retardant.
On the morning of Aug 3, heavy smoke in the area hampered personnel from seeing all of the fire perimeter. In the late afternoon, the fire experienced heavy wind, and the northwest corner of the fire became very active.
The fire is now estimated at 650 hectares in size, and is moving northward away from Harrison Hot Springs. The top priority of the BC Wildfire Service is the protection of life and property.
This fire is suspected to be human-caused. All human-caused wildfires are preventable and unnecessarily divert firefighting resources from naturally occurring fires. The BC Wildfire Service is urging caution in the backcountry and asking everyone in the province to refrain from activities that may cause a wildfire.