The Heather Lake Fire is burning Friday. Structural protection firefighters work at Manning Park Resort Sunday as a large fire burns nearby. The Heather Lake fire spread north and crossed the Canada-US border on Friday. As of Sunday, it is about 400 hectares in size and burning about five kilometers southeast of Manning Park Resort. “While the resort is not under immediate threat, a Structural Protection Unit is proactively working to support the defense of the resort facilities,” the BC Fire Service said Sunday. Some trails and facilities within EC Manning Provincial Park, south of Highway 3, are now under evacuation orders and alerts. More details about the closure can be found here. “The fire is burning on a highly volatile type of fuel and has the potential for aggressive fire behavior. It is highly visible from Highway 3, however there is no immediate threat to structures or Highway 3,” the BCWS states. “Smoke, visibility and topography make it difficult to estimate the size of the Heather Lake fire. We expect an updated fire size as well as details on the size of the fire burning in Canada by the end of the day on September 4th.” The fire was first discovered on August 21 and is believed to have been caused by lightning. There are currently 24 BCWS firefighters working to fight the fire, along with four helicopters, but BCWS is also working with the US Forest Service. The Fat Dog Creek fire is also burning about 20 hectares north of Manning Park Resort. However, this fire does not threaten any infrastructure and BCWS is only monitoring the fire at this time.
