B.C. Wildfire Service crews are hoping a blast of cooler, wetter weather this week will help them get a handle on a wildfire burning in the Squamish Valley.
The fire was spotted Monday afternoon about 17.5 kilometres up the valley.
It quickly grew from 0.5 hectares to an estimated 15 hectares on Tuesday and is burning in a difficult-to-access area.
Wildfire information officer Dorthe Jakobsen said rain forecast for Wednesday has crews crossing their fingers.
“It’s going to be very helpful. It depends how much they get over there in the Squamish Valley and where, exactly, it falls. Sometimes micro-climates can trick you,” she said.
“But they’re saying up to 35 millimetres by Saturday night, and if that happens, it will be helpful.”
READ MORE: Vancouver’s March was one of the driest on record
Jakobsen said 22 firefighters and a helicopter are currently working on the fire’s flanks.
She added that the wildfire, which is believed to be human-caused, is unusual for this early in the season.
“Typically, we would be expecting no fires at this point, and we did have five starts just last week, and they were all human-caused.”
READ MORE: Wildfire season arrives early in B.C. Interior
The fire comes after a particularly dry March, which included Vancouver setting an all-time record for low precipitation.
Crews are hoping to use a helicopter to map the fire Tuesday evening and arrive at a better estimate of its size. No structures are currently threatened by the fire.
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