Officials not ruling out possibility that Mount Seymour wildfire was human-caused

An out-of-control wildfire on Mount Seymour in North Vancouver underscores the need to "be vigilant" in the region's green spaces, according to officials, who have not ruled out the possibility that it was human-caused.

The blaze sparked Wednesday and is being fought by crews from Metro Vancouver, the BC Wildfire Service and District of North Vancouver firefighters, who are making progress with suppression efforts despite working in potentially dangerous and rugged terrain. The estimated size is 0.3 hectares, unchanged since Wednesday evening.

"There has been minimal growth overnight, as a result of firefighting operations. There has been visible improvement with smoke throughout the morning and to this afternoon," Brant Arnold-Smith with the Metro Vancouver Regional District said at a news conference, adding that ground crews are working to identify hot spots.

"The fire is burning quite deep and it has affected the stability of trees on the site, so our crews are working slowly and cautiously, dealing with those hazards, safety of our crews is paramount."

Despite being highly visible from downtown Vancouver, the area where the fire is burning requires a roughly 90-minute hike to reach, according to Arnold-Smith, who described it as a "rugged, secluded area." A temporary helipad is being built to help improve access, he said.

The BC Wildfire Service initially said the fire was suspected to be lightning-caused, but that has not been definitively established. While the BCWS website now lists the suspected cause as "human," Arnold-Smith said it's too early to draw any conclusions.

"We're not ruling out human cause and further information will be provided as the investigation continues. It's a remote area, so it's very rare to find people in that area," he said.

Regardless, he says it shows just how vulnerable large swathes of green space are during a persistent drought and high-to-extreme wildfire danger.

"This event serves as an important reminder as to how dry our region is. Natural events like lightning and also human-caused fires such as those from ignition sources really pose a risk to our green spaces and regional parks during this hot dry weather," Arnold-Smith said, adding, "we haven't seen any rain since June 19."

Since April 1, there have been 1,034 wildfires that have burned 1.2 million hectares in B.C.