Evacuation Alerts Issued for Parts of Pemberton Due to Signal Hill Wildfire
Subhadarshi Tripathy
7/17/20262 min read
Parts of Pemberton, B.C., are under evacuation alert because of the Signal Hill wildfire, which was discovered Wednesday and continues to burn near the community.
The Village of Pemberton issued an evacuation alert late Wednesday covering 1,377 properties.
At the same time, the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District issued an alert for all properties in Area C from Collins Road to One Mile Lake and the Lillooet River.
Residents affected by the alerts are being told to prepare to leave at a moment’s notice.
Mayor Says Alerts Are Precautionary
Pemberton Mayor Mike Richman said the alerts were issued so residents would be ready if the fire moved closer to the community.
He said crews were pleased with the progress they made Thursday, though stronger winds created challenges later in the evening.
Richman said the fire was being pushed east, away from the village and away from power lines.
An evacuation order is also in place for One Mile Lake Park.
Richman said that order was issued because the area is being used as an important staging location for B.C. Wildfire Service operations.
“We don't want the public interfering with the staging area or being at risk while the activities are ongoing,” he said.
Fire Grows to 38 Hectares
The B.C. Wildfire Service says the Signal Hill wildfire was discovered Wednesday about five kilometres from Highway 99.
By Thursday, it had grown to 0.38 square kilometres, or 38 hectares.
The wildfire service said smoke may be highly visible in the area.
Multiple crews are responding, with support from helicopters and an air tanker.
On Thursday, crews focused on a direct attack along the fire’s north flank to protect the community. Operations continued overnight.
In a midnight update, the wildfire service said nearby structures were not currently at risk, but protecting those areas remained the top priority for assigned crews.
Power Outage Affects Thousands
B.C. Hydro said a downed tree knocked out power to more than 3,000 customers in Pemberton and surrounding communities on Thursday afternoon.
By Thursday night, crews had restored power to about two-thirds of affected customers.
The outage added to an already tense situation for residents monitoring the wildfire.
Aircraft Working From Green Lake
The B.C. Wildfire Service said skimmers are operating out of Green Lake, northeast of Whistler.
Officials asked people in the area to remain aware of their surroundings and give firefighting crews and aircraft plenty of space.
The wildfire service said anyone near firefighting aircraft should clear the area immediately and stay close to shore to avoid interfering with operations.
The Signal Hill wildfire is suspected to be human-caused, a category used for any fire not sparked by lightning.
Residents Watch and Prepare
Area resident Sam Watson said he first saw smoke from the hill while driving home from work Wednesday.
“My first thought was, how close is this going to be to town? Like, do we have to move? Do we have to go?” he said.
Watson said he is now watching, waiting and preparing in case he needs to evacuate.
He described it as confronting to see flames, not just smoke, moving across the hill.
“Being able to watch [the wildfire] grow in real time, it was kind of scary,” he said.
Watson said the area is a popular hub for mountain biking and hiking trails, and urged people to be careful and considerate outdoors.
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