Skip to content
  1. Home
  2. Local News

Richmond wildfire update: Crews battling wind, extreme heat and the public

The large plumes of smoke may gone, but that doesn’t mean Richmond’s wildfire is out.
Alyse Kotyk

The large plumes of smoke may gone, but that doesn’t mean Richmond’s wildfire is out.

The latest challenge for Richmond Fire-Rescue is putting out the fire that appears to be burning around the roots of the vegetation and peat in the DND Lands north of Westminster Highway and west of Shell Road.

According to fire-rescue, the fire is burning down through the peat and isn’t easy to find and, hence, tackle.

Richmond Fire-Rescue's 5 p.m. update: Apparently, people are still trying to access the site, despite obvious fire suppression activity:

Fire crews were still at the smouldering scene on Monday morning, with Shell Road, between Westminster Highway and Alderbridge Way, still closed off.

It’s estimated that fire crews will be on the site for the rest of the week, at the very least.

More than 30 firefighters were on scene on Sunday, helping to extinguish the wild land fire on Richmond’s Department of National Defence property near Westminster Highway and No. 4 Road.

Assistance came in from Vancouver, Delta and Port Moody crews as firefighting efforts reached their third day.

Multiple aircrafts dumping water, military personnel, RCMP, Fire-Rescue and excavators have all been on scene at various points to help combat the blaze which on-the-ground crews described as “stubborn,” particularly due to its hard-to-reach location. 

 

Bog fire 2018
Fire crews battle the blaze on DND lands by using an excavator to clear a large path. Photo: Shane MacKichan

Some reports suggest crews will be working to extinguish the fire throughout the week, and the smoke may linger. While Metro Vancouver has issued an air quality warning for a few areas in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, it is not due to the fire’s smoke, but because of “high concentrations of ground-level ozone.”

 

On Friday, City of Richmond spokesperson Ted Townsend told the Richmond News the fire in the forested, southeast corner of DND property. Townsend explained that smoke could be smelled overnight on Thursday, but the fire could not be located. Fire crews found the fire around 6:30 a.m. on Friday.

“It’s in quite an isolated area. It’s about 1,000 feet away from the closest road and there’s no trails going into where the fire is located,” Townsend said. “So it was difficult to locate and it's very difficult to fight.”

Another significant barrier has been the fact that the fire is not close to any water source, so crews have had to run “fairly lengthy hose” to get water to the fire and have had to cut their path to get to it.

Fire Chief Tim Wilkinson explained that this has been a “technical fire.”

“(It) will likely be a multi-day event,” Wilkinson said in a press release.

“Those downwind will experience smoke and ash and I urge you to keep windows closed, HVAC systems running, and those vulnerable with health issues should stay indoors out of the smoke.”

Richmond official Twitter feed for emergency and non-emergency alerts reminded the public that the area of the DND land is “still an active wild fire and an active worksite. It is extremely dangerous,” urging individuals to stay out of the perimeter created by No. 4 Road, Alderbridge Way, Shell Road and Westminster Highway.