Fire crews are working to contain a blaze growing on Blackcomb Mountain in Whistler that is smaller than originally thought.

The fire, believed sparked by lightning, prompted an evacuation Thursday of about four hundred tourists and hikers on Blackcomb Mountain, home to Olympic sliding events.

Officials originally estimated the blaze was around 75 hectares in size, but have revised that to 30 hectares after flying over the area last night. It is burning about three kilometres from Whistler Village.

Related links: How the fire is affecting Whistler operations

Whistler fire Chief Rob Whitton told ctvbc.ca a smoke drift over the area made it seem larger.

Whitton credits overnight rain for dampening the growing blaze near Crystal Ridge, but says they plan to use "aggressive action" today to beat back the flames.

The fire has also been downgraded from a rank four to a rank two, meaning it is now considered a creeping ground surface fire.

Water bombers will assist teams on the ground. There is a 20 person crew on scene, with another team arriving later this morning. Danger tree fallers are also on standby to remove any problematic trees that are deemed a safety risk to fire crews.

Heavy winds and thunderstorms are forecast for the area later today, something that concerns Whitton.

"Any time we get that there is a concern to us," Whitton said. "There are many pockets of residential housing close by, so we're always concerned about lightning coming through the area."

In the village

The manager of Blackcomb Lodge said Friday, from his vantage point, the danger seems to have passed.

"Everything is out at this end here, as far as I can see. I can see no smoke, no flames," Andy Wills told CTV News Channel from Whistler. "We had rain last night, so I believed that seemed to help. "

"It's gotten a little bit cooler from the last couple of days, it was extremely hot," he said.

Still, people are keeping a close watch, and monitoring the local fire emergency website for updates.

"We have not anticipated any evacuation orders anytime soon," Wills said, "we have not received any or are anticipating any. We will be checking every hour on the resort municipality website, " Wills said.

Tinder dry conditions

The Blackcomb fire is one of dozens burning across the province, which has experienced hot, dry conditions for much of July.

One of those affected communities is nearby Pemberton, where many residents have been placed on evacuation alert.

Officials from the Coastal Fire Centre say the Copperdome and Camel Back fires are threatening several farms at the northern end of Pemberton Meadows.

Both fires were sparked by lightning last Saturday and have been burning in the hills above the village.