A fast-growing fire in the United States has forced evacuation orders north of the border, near Grand Forks, B.C. More than 150 properties have been ordered evacuated, with the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary, saying the fire “poses a threat to human life.”
“Evacuate immediately if you are in the following area: west of Highway 41 and south of Highway 3,” the order says. The alert also applies to “any properties west of Highway 3 from Sleepy Hollow Rd to Phoenix Rd.”
Nearly 570 properties are also on evacuation alert, which means residents would have to be prepared to leave at a moment's notice.
Mark Stephens with the regional district's emergency operations centre described it as a “very dynamic situation” when reached for an interview shortly after 5 p.m. PT Wednesday.
He said officials in B.C. were notified of the fast-growing fire by their counterparts in Washington state, where it originated.
“[The fire] was heavily windblown given the cold front that was passing through,” Stephens said, adding it had not yet crossed the border into Canada, but small spot fires from embers blowing north were being attended by B.C. crews.
At last count, he said, the fire was about one square kilometre in size but “that number is evolving quickly.”
He described the affected area as rural and farmland, and did not say how many residents are estimated to be impacted.
Smoke from the fire is highly visible from Grand Forks, about 350 kilometres directly east of Vancouver, with residents posting pictures of plumes of smoke to social media.
Resident Sahil Bagga described looking up and seeing “a huge fire in the sky.”
“Everybody's worried,” he said.
Evacuations and Alerts
“This is a very fast-moving and developing situation,” says Mark Stephens, EOC Director. “We ask everyone to stay vigilant and to keep checking the RDKB website for information.”
Evacuees are to check in at the Red Cross reception centre located at Jack Goddard Memorial Arena, 2020 Central Avenue, in Grand Forks.
However, the reception centre might not yet be open and according to Stephens residents are being asked to stay in their vehicles until the centre is open, which is likely within the hour.
Anyone on evacuation alert can pre-register online for emergency support services at https://ess.gov.bc.ca/. Residents are asked to register for the RDKB Emergency Alerting System – Voyent Alert – on the RDKB’s emergency website https://emergency.rdkb.com/
Fire Spread and Response
High winds have whipped up a fast-growing fire that started south of the Canada-U.S. border near Grand Forks and quickly moved northwest into the city with evacuation orders in place for several neighbourhoods as it poses a threat to human life.
Thick smoke and visible flames on Galena Mountain from the Goosmus wildfire were visible around 3 p.m. coming north from Washington State, with Grand Forks Fire/Rescue coordinating ember-spotting and evacuations as American wildfire crews with bucket helicopters shortly after.
Evacuation orders for Sleepy Hollow Road, Danshin Village Road and homes on the north and south side of Spencer Hill were in place by 4:30 p.m. Flames were also spotted in the Sleepy Hollow Road area southwest of the city.
Grand Forks Fire/Rescue is patrolling the southwest area as far east as 68th Avenue checking for ember-caused flames.
Early reports from witnesses say the fire was caused by lightning from an incoming storm and fed by winds as high as 50 km/h.
Fighting the Fire and Evacuation Efforts
BC Emergency Alert has been issued by the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary to evacuate immediately for anyone west of Highway 41 and south of Highway 3. Any properties west of Highway 3 from Sleepy Hollow Rd to Phoenix Rd to leave immediately.
Evacuate immediately east along Highway 3 and check in at the Red Cross reception centre located at Jack Goddard Memorial Arena, 2020 Central Avenue, in Grand Forks.
The RDCB said fire is moving north toward the US/Canada border.
“Ember showers are occurring the Sleepy Hollow area of RDKB Electoral Area D/Rural Grand Forks,” the RDKB media release said.
“Tactical evacuations are currently in progress along Highway 3, as well as west of Highway 41, south of Highway 3, and along the west side of Highway 3 from Sleepy Hollow Road to Phoenix Road.”
The BC Wildfire Service said there are currently deploying crews and structure protection resources to the Grand Forks area in advance of the Goosmus wildfire.
The BC Wildfire Service said the wildfire was discovered in the United States on Wednesday (September 25) and is estimated to be 200 hectares in size with current weather conditions are pushing this wildfire north towards the Canadian border.
“This fire is highly visible to the City of Grand Forks and surrounding areas,” the BC Wildfire Service said.
“Washington State has crews, heavy equipment and air support en route. We are mobilizing unit crews to the area to support the regional fire departments.”“We are working with local government partners to protect public safety,” the BC Wildfire Service said.
The RDKB said Red Cross emergency support services will be opening a reception centre at the Jack Goddard Arena in Grand Forks.
Moving Forward
While rain has assisted in the fight against the Goosmus wildfire and winds have calmed down, more evacuation orders and alerts have been issued.
There are now 156 residences on evacuation order and 567 on evacuation alert due to the blaze.
According to the RDKB Emergency Operations Centre, no structures have been lost at this time due to the fire.
Highway 3 is also closed from Highway 41 to Phoenix Road.
Evacuees are asked to go the Red Cross reception centre at the Grand Forks Arena which will be open after 7 p.m.
This is a developing story.
