Fast-moving wildfire has Squamish Valley residents on the run, on alert amid COVID-19 pandemic

SQUAMISH (NEWS 1130) – A number of homes are in the line of fire as a blaze climbs over mountains and forces the District of Squamish to declare a state of emergency.

The wildfire, which started at Magee Road and Squamish Valley Road, is burning out of control and now threatening the surrounding areas, including where former Mayor Patricia Heintzman lives, on Paradise Valley Road.

“I was watering my garden last night and all of a sudden the light just turned into this beautiful crimson colour, I went ‘Wow, it’s like the sun being filtered through smoke,’ and of course, I turned around and there was billowing smoke up the ridge and sure enough there was fire up the way,” she says.

See image for current Evacuation Orders and Evacuation Alerts. We are working this morning with @Squamishtown @slrd_bc and the #BCWildfireService for accurate and real time information. #squamish #squamishfire pic.twitter.com/nH9KOSHKQg

— Squamish RCMP (@SquamishRCMP) April 16, 2020

The blaze forced the evacuation of the Cheekye Reserve, which lies directly in the flames’ path, but the RCMP has said it appears the fire is holding its position. Evans and Levette Lake are just over the ridge, between the flames and Paradise Valley Road.

“There’s a few farms up there, a nunnery … a few tourism accommodations. It’s a very, very pastoral, quiet neighbourhood; not very densely populated, it’s very rural.”

The Queen of Peace Monastery which was recently featured in This Mountain Life, a film about backcountry enthusiasts, is also in the path of the fire, as it sits on Cloudburst Crescent, a road that was evacuated near immediately.

There is also BC Hydro infrastructure in the area which is threatened.

According to the Squamish Chief, a number of people have stayed behind to help fight the wildfire and protect their homes.

It’s believed it was caused by a controlled pile burn at McGee Road that reportedly got out of control. If the fire crests the hill it’s on, it will be metres from homes at Levette, Evans, and Butterfly lakes.

Heintzman says the area is beautiful and beloved by locals and visitors, especially in the summer when vacationers come to stay at their second homes on Levette Lake.

If the wind shifts, it could mean disaster for those in neighbouring Paradise Valley, who were put on alert Wednesday.

“The wind last night was actually heading south. I anticipate, normally, the wind goes south in the mornings so hopefully they’ve been able to contain it,” she says.

The owner of Valley Buds Flower Farm sent me this video. Roughly 3 acres of flowers, vegetables and livelihood in jeopardy. No one lives here and no one on site now. Obviously she is worried as wildfire in Squamish continues to burn this morning. @BT_Vancouver @CityNewsVAN pic.twitter.com/ye1tHsTj4n

— Greg Harper (@GS_Harper) April 16, 2020

COVID-19 complicates evacuations

Witnesses who were cycling up the valley say they saw smoke, turned around, and within minutes flames were shooting into the sky where they had just stood.

The timing couldn’t be worse, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to strain the economy, communities, and put more pressure on first responders.

As far as being evacuated during a pandemic? Heintzman isn’t worried, she says “you have to do what you have to do” and prioritize the emergencies in front of you.

“It just compounds, I think, people’s anxiety for one but it also just compounds the complexity. All of a sudden of we are evacuated we have to go to a location where there’s a lot of other people,” she says.

“So we still keep those social distancing parameters in place, we still are conscientiously washing our hands and doing all the right things.”

Helicopter with bucket scooping up water from Squamish River has firefight continues. It’s believed this wildfire started yesterday afternoon after a controlled burn got out of control. @BT_Vancouver @CityNewsVAN @NEWS1130 pic.twitter.com/azXcYRTnm5

— Greg Harper (@GS_Harper) April 16, 2020

But open burning of most fires is set to be banned at noon, Thursday April 16th, in part to prevent crews from having to deal with this during COVID-19.

“The current pandemic will make the work of emergency managers more challenging, as it has in all aspects of our society,” reads a statement from B.C.’s coronavirus joint information centre.

B.C.’s Wildfire Service has already shifted its plans in response to COVID-19, information officer Jody Lucius told NEWS 1130 earlier this week.

“There’s been a lot of time and effort dedicated to reviewing the practices that we have, working with the public health officers and trying to ensure that we’re ready for the season that we know is inevitably coming,” she said.

As of now, campfires are still allowed, though camp sites are mostly closed.

-With files from Kelvin Gawley