Smoke from wildfire north of Horseshoe Bay begins to enter Metro Vancouver

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      A wildfire that has been burning north of Horseshoe Bay since this past weekend may impact the air quality of West Vancouver.

      Metro Vancouver stated on social media today (June 25) that smoke from the ongoing Strip Creek wildfire, located alongside Highway 99 about 4.5 kilometres south of Lions Bay, has begun moving into the western end of Metro Vancouver. Metro Vancouver also notes that while air-quality levels currently remain below advisory thresholds, concentrations may change as winds and wildfire activity also shift or develop.

      According to a B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure news release issued today (June 25), lanes that have been closed on the Sea to Sky Highway north of Horseshoe Bay will remain that way for several more days. All northbound lanes between Ansell Place and Ocean Point Road have been closed. Northbound traffic has been diverted into one of the southbound lanes.

      Due to the wildfire, a number of hazardous trees along the highway need to be removed before northbound lanes can be reopened.

      As congestion is expected, travelers can check updates on highway information at the DriveBC website.

      Metro Vancouver crews have been fighting the fire since June 22.

      On June 24, Metro Vancouver stated that there wasn’t any threat to residents in the area.

      The fire was reported to have been caused by a downed B.C. Hydro line.

      For information about current air quality, visit Metro Vancouver’s AirMap website or the B.C. Air Quality website.

      You can follow Craig Takeuchi on Twitter at @cinecraig or on Facebook

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