Belcarra Regional Park wildfire held; Anmore evacuations lifted

A wildfire in Belcarra Regional Park is now being held after crews worked overnight in steep terrain, according to Metro Vancouver Regional District officials.

About 40 firefighters used hose lines in hot, dry conditions to contain the blaze to roughly 1.5 hectares. Incident commander Brandt Arnold-Smith said a held fire is not expected to grow beyond its current perimeter.

The fire prompted tactical evacuations at two Anmore homes and an evacuation alert for 35 other properties. Those orders and alerts have now been rescinded.

Officials said the fire began at the bottom of a hillside and moved rapidly uphill. Crews continue to extinguish hotspots and dig into the ground to prevent reignition.

A downed hydro transmission line required ground crews to pull back temporarily for safety, while helicopters bucketed water on the fire. BC Hydro said the line was de-energized, repairs are underway and there were no associated outages. The cause remains under investigation.