鈥擴PDATE: 3:30 p.m. June 13鈥�
Although it鈥檚 Friday the 13th, there鈥檚 some reassuring news about the Squamish wildfire.
The Dryden Creek wildfire remains at 59.5 hectares and out of control. However, 小蓝视频 Wildfire Service expects this status could change in the next day or two.
鈥淲e have a number of stages in terms of containment, out of control being the first stage and that is where we are at right now. The next stage is being held. The definition of being held is that we are not expecting the perimeter to grow in size with current resources on site as well as current weather conditions,鈥� 小蓝视频 Wildfire Service spokesperson Rory Baldwin said at a press conference on June 13.
鈥淪o we鈥檙e expecting with the weather forecast that we鈥檝e been receiving that we鈥檙e going to make good progress in the next operational period and that we鈥檙e going to be looking at addressing the status of the fire to being held probably within the next operational period or the day after that.鈥�
Baldwin explained that the size of the fire鈥�59.5 hectares鈥攊s equivalent to between four or five kilometres.
鈥淎s the crow flies, we鈥檙e looking at about four kilometres to five kilometres from the tail of the fire 鈥� at the end of Tantalus Rd to the north end of the fire where it鈥檚 been pushing the last several days,鈥� he said.
While the fire has spread over the last few days, Baldwin said its direction north has worked in the firefighters' favour.
鈥淚n a way, having the fire move further north has actually aided in our suppression efforts because the terrain becomes more operable and less steep as it gets closer to the Alice Lake turnoff.鈥�
Fire Chief with the District of Squamish Aaron Foote said that crews are taking advantage of the favourable weather to achieve a 鈥渉igher level of containment.鈥�
鈥淲e are expecting additional resources with additional ground crews. They have arrived today, as well as an additional helicopter,鈥� he said.
鈥淐urrently, we have around 65 小蓝视频 Wildfire Service firefighters and five helicopters working today. Strong progress has been made on the southern and south western flanks while aviation resources maintain heavy bucketing along the northern perimeter of the fire.鈥�
Foote reminded residents that the fire will remain visible, particularly at night, as it consumes unburned fuel pockets within the perimeter; however, it 鈥渄oes not necessarily indicate growth or pose for concern.鈥�
Evacuation alert
The evacuation alert remains in effect from Depot Road east of Highway 99 to Tantalus Road (North of Dowad and Thunderbird Creek); however, Foote said this will be revisited once the status of the fire moves to being held.
Alice Lake Provincial Park has also been evacuated and closed by 小蓝视频 Parks until further notice.
Foote also thanked the local residents and businesses for their support over the past week, which he said has 鈥渞eally helped to uplift and motivate our crews.鈥�
As the weekend approaches, Mayor Armand Hurford urged visitors to be mindful of the extensive emergency response underway.
鈥淭hat means keeping moving on the highway, which has been reduced to one lane northbound with a lower speed limit to aid in moving through. As well as respecting the closures that we have in place for trails,鈥� Hurford said.
鈥淚鈥檝e already seen some chatter online like 鈥業t seems to be dying down, can I go ride Rigs in Zen [ mountain biking trail]?.鈥� No. The response is active, so please give the space for that to happen. We have an extensive trail network that you can go and recreate in, we need space to continue this, and it is not safe to push the limits of that.鈥�
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鈥擮riginal story June 13鈥�
This is Day 5 of the Dryden Creek wildfire.
As of the latest report, the Dryden Creek wildfire is 59.5 hectares in size and remains out of control, on June 13.
Last night, Squamish Fire Rescue said they had seen "minimal growth" on the fire.
The department says crews continue to make strong progress on the southern and southwestern flanks, while from the air, crews are focused on heavy bucketing along the northern perimeter.
The south perimeter is the primary focus, according to the Squamish Fire Rescue post.
The evacuation alert remains in effect from Depot Road east of Highway 99 to Tantalus Road (North of Dowad and Thunderbird Creek).
Anyone in the affected area must be ready to leave on short notice.
Alice Lake Provincial Park has been evacuated and closed by 小蓝视频 Parks until further notice.
Weather for the fire
According to , a weak upper trough with an onshore flow will continue bringing mostly cloudy skies with cooler temperatures and a small chance of showers to the south coast today.
The wind is blowing from the south at about 20 km/h, with gusts up to 40 km/h this morning.
Over the weekend, a ridge of high pressure will build, clearing skies and warming temperatures.
Another trough will approach the coast early next week, possibly bringing showers, Ross said.
The 小蓝视频 spoke with engagement analyst and rural community expert, who works for the Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue at Simon Fraser University (SFU).
Whitehead focuses on ways to address the risks and impact of wildfire in 小蓝视频 and how to mitigate those risks.
Whitehead, now a Squamish resident, has seven years of experience as a firefighter all over 小蓝视频, and has worked with rural communities in the Interior, where some people have been reluctant to evacuate, specifically those in the Robson valley, between Prince George and Jasper.
What follows is a version of that conversation edited for length and clarity.
Q: What is your immediate impression of the Dryden Creek wildfire?
A: I think it's always interesting to see when fires are right beside communities and how visceral it is, and how much of a spectacle it becomes.
Q: I guess people are trying to look at it because it's not an everyday occurrence, or even an annual occurrence.
There might be people who have never seen a wildfire like this up close, or might not be taking it as seriously as they realize they ought to?
A: That's something people aren't familiar with and aren't comfortable with. Where I used to live in northern 小蓝视频, you would see big fires pretty regularly, but to get this sort of viewing right beside town is something I've never seen before in a town that's not been evacuated.
It's so rare that a fire starts right there and expands.
I think it's really important that people do see what's going on, but just doing it from a safe place.
The overpasses have been great for that.
It's more just, if they're going into areas where there are active responders, it鈥檚 a big no-go.
This happens in areas all around the province, but on the coast, we tend to be removed from this.
Wildfires are a reality for people in the Interior, and so it's obviously a bit different in context, but I think it's really important to note, too, that this is unique to our reality.
Q: How would you encourage the Squamish community right now to adapt?
A: 80% of structures lost in fires tend to be from ember showers, and sparks from the main fire.
That's often really frustrating, because it's quite random as to where that happens, and really confusing for residents.
At the same time, you don't need to live in a fortress to make sure that the siding on your property is good.
Moving wood piles, thinking about the roofing materials when you're replacing those, it's very doable to reduce a lot of the hazards.
has really good recommendations as to how you can address your own hazards, and the has staff that can help you with an assessment, or you can do it yourself.
Some of the things are expensive; a lot of the suggestions are cheap. It鈥檚 about landscaping around your property.
You can place a hose pipe on your roof.
I think it's important to note that we live in an environment where there are other hazards too like earthquakes, floods, and landslides.
Wildfire, in a lot of ways, is the one that we can have a bit more agency in, and reduce our hazards.
I really recommend that people comply with campfire rules and regulations and that they look through the FireSmart regulations and see what they can do on their own property.
Q: Is there anything else that you would like to add?
A: The big one is that although this is a visceral and impressive fire, it is high profile.
We have 50 to 60 very qualified firefighters on this incident, and crews are working their best; they鈥檝e made a priority to secure the areas near homes and properties.
So while I fully understand the fear and concern, we have great resources on this fire, and the fact is, there's no need to panic at the moment.
Ina Pace is The 小蓝视频's Local Journalism Initiative (LJI) Reporter.
This reporting was produced through the which supports original civic journalism across Canada.
