A pair of wildfires that broke out at popular B.C. outdoor destinations over the Canada Day long weekend were both caused by human activity, officials say.

The first fire ignited on Saturday near Harrison Lake, located about 30 kilometres north of Harrison Hot Springs.

“This fire was human-caused. It is under investigation at this time,” said Donna MacPherson, a fire information officer with the BC Wildfire Service. “(The area) is heavily used by people. Unfortunately, those people have got to get out of the way and it’s unfortunate that it was somebody’s activity that has caused it.”

Crews are still struggling to gain the upper hand on the blaze. By Sunday evening, the fire had grown to approximately 60 hectares, with plumes of smoke rising from the mountain slopes.

Long weekend campers in the area were ordered to leave Saturday afternoon as more than 60 firefighters worked to contain the flames.

The campers’ vehicles and tents were blocking a logging road leading to the fire, hampering accessibility for crews.

“All we saw was, like, smoke everywhere, so we went down to our campsite. Everyone was gone,” camper Kelly Smith told CTV News.

“There were probably a good, like, 30 people,” she said. “Within a couple of hours, they were all of out of there because the wind started picking up, so you don’t know where the fire’s going to go, right?”

Officials say the Harrison Lake fire is not yet a threat to people or buildings, despite being near a popular camping area.

A second fire broke out just a day later near Whistler Village, just a few hundred metres from homes, condos and hotels in the area.

The blaze ignited at around 5:30 p.m. above Painted Cliff Drive at the base of Blackcomb Mountain, according to the Resort Municipality of Whistler. What began as a small ground fire quickly spread due to tinder dry conditions, forcing crews to use air tankers, helicopters and ground crews to keep the flames under control.

“The alignment of the fire, the wind coming at it, the location of the sun, the temperature, the relative humidity were all lined up perfectly,” said Rob Dombowsky of the BC Wildfire Service.

Smoke could be seen billowing all the way from Whistler Village, but no evacuations were necessary. The fire was relatively small, growing to only about the size of a soccer field thanks to the quick response of firefighters and the Whistler Blackcomb Ski Resort, which helped by tapping into its water supply and its snowmaking hydrant system to put out the blaze.

Officials say these fires could have been sparked by something as simple as a cigarette or an unattended campfire and they’re urging outdoor enthusiasts to be vigilant as wildfire seasons sets in.

“It’s the season to do things outside, so aside from discarded smoking material--which is one of the leading causes and one of the most preventable causes--it’s just that people (are) outside, they’re in parks, they’re in our greenspaces and that’s just inherently dangerous when the brush is so dry and only getting drier,” said Jonathan Gormick of the Vancouver Fire and Rescue Service.

That means the fire risk across the province will only increase in the coming weeks.

Stiffer penalties proving ineffective

In 2016, the province slapped 153 people with fines ranging from $307 to a whopping $1,150 under B.C.’s New Wildfire Act.

The legislation, which game into effect in April of 2016, includes a $575 fine for dropping, releasing or mishandling burning substances, a $1,150 fine for fires that go against provincial regulations and even a $383 fine for simply failing to report a fire.

“We do have a new $500 fine for anyone who tosses lit smoking material in a hazardous way,” Gormick said.

The stiffer penalties, however, don’t appear to be curbing the careless behaviour.

“We’re up about 30 per cent for brush and grass fires,” said Chris Keon, assistant fire chief with Surrey Fire Rescue, adding that most of these are caused by discarded cigarettes and other “smoking materials.”

The province also offers a series of wildfire prevention guidelines on its website including:

  • Checking campfire restrictions in your area
  • Removing all flammable material from the area around a campfire
  • Not leaving a campfire unattended
  • Keeping at least eight litres of water nearby
  • Using water to extinguish a campfire before leaving the area
  • Always disposing of smoking materials using an ashtray

Anyone who sees a wildfire is asked to report it by calling *5555 or 1-800-663-5555.

With files from CTV Vancouver’s David Molko, Penny Daflos, Sarah MacDonald and Scott Roberts