A fire ignited Sunday afternoon near Whistler village just a few hundred metres from homes in the area.

Smoke could be seen rising from a treed area as fire crews battled it from the air using three helicopters and an air tanker to drop water and flame retardant.

"It started as a small ground fire [Sunday] afternoon and developed into a rank two fire with some vigorous fire activity," Chris Heppell. "It wasn't until later in the evening that they had 100 per cent containment."

The fire broke out around 5:30 p.m. above Painted Cliff Drive in the Blackcomb Benchlands, according to the Resort Municipality of Whistler.

Although it burned close to buildings below it, Heppell said his main concern was the fire spreading up the slope with the dry conditions on the mountain.

"What we experienced yesterday was more of a risk of it getting out of control," he said. "It's very dry in the forest."

Fire crews ended up drawing water from Blackcomb Mountain's snowmaking hydrant system to soak the blaze.

"It's the same water system that they use to connect up their snowmaking machines," Heppell said. "It's a hydrant system throughout the mountain."

Heppell said getting water into the area was a significant help in the fire fight, which was made challenging by rocky terrain and lack of access.

A total of 50 people were on the fire overnight, Heppell said, including Whistler Blackcomb staff and firefighters from BC Wildfire Service's coastal division and the Whistler Fire Department.

According to the B.C. wildfire service, the fire was relatively small—just one hectare in size. No injuries have been reported.

Officials have confirmed the fire was human caused.