The mayor of New Westminster, B.C., has vowed to rebuild after a massive, four-alarm fire destroyed a section of Westminster Pier Park on Sunday night.
Fire crews say they were called to a brush fire on Front Street near the SkyTrain bridge around 8 p.m. Flames spread quickly with nearly the entire pier engulfed in flames.
Crews believe the old portion of the pier is destroyed.
Mayor Jonathan Coté said Monday morning that the fire had been contained to the old pier structure.
The well-known WOW Westminster sculpture, which consists of four shipping containers in the shape of a “W”, appeared to have been caught up in the fire.
Coté said the 43-metre installation, which was created by Brazilian artist José Resende, will have to come down as the part of the pier under the sculpture was severely damaged.
“Hopefully we’ll be able to save the ‘W’ and relocate it, but for now our focus is on putting out the fire,” he said.
Residents are asked to avoid the area as air quality, which has already been impacted by wildfires south of the border, will be very poor. People who live and work in downtown New Westminster are asked to stay indoors as much as possible.
Poor air quality led to the suspension of classes at a small number of New Westminster schools on Monday while other schools enacted early dismissals.
Coté said the damaged parts of the pier will be rebuilt.
“Downtown New Westminster is the oldest part of British Columbia,” he said.
“We’ve seen our challenges and crises over the years, but we are a resilient community. We will continue to fight on and we will rebuild.”
Westminster Pier Park is a 600-metre boardwalk along a stretch of reclaimed waterfront between the Fraser River and Front Street. It was built in 2009 at a cost of about $24 million.
The area is a key part of the city where locals have spent time outdoors during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Coté.
“2020 has been a tough year for a variety of reasons,” he said. “Obviously, this just adds to that.
“When we were out on our balcony yesterday watching it on fire, it was heartbreaking, and I know that heartbreak was really felt by many residents in New Westminster.”
Police and fire officials are investigating and it’s too soon to determine what started the fire, Coté said.
— With files from Simon Little and Amy Judd