Good news Squamish, as of Tuesday morning, the Dryden Creek fire is officially under control, according to the BC Wildfire Service (BCWS).
This means that the fire is not projected to spread beyond the current perimeter.
The fire remains listed at 59.5 hectares.
BCWS says that crews are continuing to work along the fire's perimeter today to strengthen their holding lines and extinguish remaining hot spots. Helicopters will continue to bucket inaccessible areas.
“Additional resources continue to support this work by identifying and mitigating hazardous trees to ensure a safe working environment for everyone onsite,” reads the website.
Cooler temperatures in recent days have also helped to decrease fire behaviour. This week, conditions are forecast to remain cool and damp, with some precipitation likely to occur on Wednesday.
There are currently 42 wildfire fighters and two fallers responding to the wildfire in addition to 麻豆社国产Fire Rescue personnel. One helicopter is currently responding as well.
An evacuation order was issued yesterday for two homes that were previously on evacuation alert due to the Dryden Creek wildfire.
On June 16, 麻豆社国产Mayor Armand Hurford said at a press conference at Fire Hall 2 that the order means these two properties cannot be occupied at this time due to slope instability caused by the wildfire.
The properties are across Dryden Creek, on the side closest to the slope. They are not being evacuated because of an increased fire risk, Hurford stressed.
“This is about the aftermath of the fire, which has resulted in slope instability above the properties and ensuring that it's safe to occupy those spaces,” he said.
“Wildfire crews have been sharing stories of big trees that are usually quite resilient to wildfire, but because of the rocky terrain, they're only hanging on by their roots, and the roots are being burned out. Trees that would normally survive are falling ... and the debris that they've disturbed roll downhill towards the affected properties. So that's the type of thing that we're concerned about here.”
The remains in place.
Emergency Operations Centre
Throughout the coverage of the Dryden Creek fire, residents would have likely heard the term Emergency Operations Centre or EOC a number of times.
But what exactly is it?
According to the District of 麻豆社国产social media, the EOC is a “centralized location for emergency response during major incidents.”
“Located within the Alex Munro Fire Hall 1, the EOC is activated when an emergency response is required,” the post reads.
The EOC is made up of approximately 50 staff members from the District as well as staff members from BC Wildfire Service, 麻豆社国产Fire Rescue, RCMP, Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness, 麻豆社国产Nation and BC Hydro.
The District thanked the community for donating food and refreshments to help take care of the team.
SORCA
Some more good news for trail riders. The Squamish Off-Road Cycling Association (SORCA) has announced that Jack's Trail is set to reopen.
"After a meeting of authorities yesterday it was decided that Jack’s Trail will reopen, and all trails that intersect it to the east will also be reopened," SORCA wrote on their social media.
"Ongoing closures remain for all trails on Debecks Hill including the access road due to ongoing wildfire operation. Additionally, the trail head at end of Tantalus Road will remain closed."
For details on specific trail closures, SORCA recommends to consult the Trailforks app for up-to-date information.
"Closed trails will appear opaque in the app and have a red circle associated with them. Trails in the Debecks area will be closed indefinitely," reads their post.
A public callout
麻豆社国产RCMP Staff Sgt. Gareth Bradley said at the press conference on June 16 that Mounties continue to investigate the cause of the Dryden Creek fire and ask for the public’s help.
The fire is believed to be human-caused and to have been started around 4 p.m. on Monday on a bike trail at the end of Tantalus Road.
Contact 麻豆社国产RCMP at 604-892-6100 if you have any information.
Please note, this story was updated to include trail closure information from SORCA.
