The wildfire has been downgraded to "being held." Read the latest.
Almost 24 hours after a wildfire started sending smoke up from the side of Mount Seymour, the fire doesn't appear to be growing in size.
After it was first reported around 4:15 p.m. Wednesday, there was minimal growth overnight, and visible improvement with the smoke throughout the morning and into the afternoon, said Brant Arnold-Smith, program manager of security and emergency preparedness with Metro Vancouver, speaking at a media conference at 2 p.m. Thursday.
The focus firefighting of efforts has switched from an aerial attack to crews on the ground, who have been targeting hotspots underground and felling dangerous trees affected by the blaze.
Ground crews are being supported by two helicopters, which have been dumping buckets of water and bringing in supplies, Arnold-Smith said.
Regarding the suspected cause, BC Wildfire Service has updated its file to "human," which runs contrary to previous statements made about lightning last weekend as the potential source.
"Official reports from ground crews, as well as helicopter pilots were first on the scene, yesterday indicated that they saw evidence of lightning strikes on a tree," Arnold-Smith said. "We don't want to rush to that conclusion."
"We're not ruling out human cause, and further information will be provided as the investigation continues," he added. "It's a remote area so it's very rare to find people in that area."
It takes about an hour and a half to reach the site through very thick brush, Arnold-Smith continued.
"This is tough work. And it is dangerous work. And I want to really acknowledge the work that the firefighters have done over the past two days, and will continue to do as they continue firefighting operations and into the next stages of this fire and into mop up," he said.
Remants of smoke appearing stronger Thursday morning were the result of firefighting on the site, which included dealing with trees with internal fires and identifying hotspots a couple feet underground.
"They're using hose lines, pumps, to attack those hotspots, suppress them and get them out. There's been a visible difference in the smoke that's been coming off this fire which is a good sign. We are quite confident that it will not spread anymore," he said.
