A confused call from her son, who was home alone on Wednesday afternoon, sent one Anmore resident rushing from her office in downtown Vancouver back to her house, where fire crews were assembling on the street outside to attack a nearby wildfire.

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By Thursday, the fire, which appears to have started in a greenway beneath transmission lines in Belcarra Regional Park, was under control, although a sense of disquiet remained on Crystal Creek Drive, where Craftsman homes appear tucked into the forest on the edge of the park.

A sigh of relief from residents, as Belcarra park wildfire is contained Back to video

When asked if the fire has changed her perception of her neighbourhood, the woman, who declined to give her name, said she wanted to move.

“That’s just my gut reaction,” she said. “I don’t know. But right now, I want to move.”

The fire brought the reality of a hot, dry summer to Metro Vancouver, where smoke and helicopters swirled in the sky above homes situated on the interface between city and wilderness.

Two properties in Anmore were evacuated as a precaution, while another three dozen were on alert after the fire broke out, joining thousands across B.C. that have been impacted by wildfires so far this season.

On Thursday, the evacuation order and alert were rescinded. B.C. Wildfire Service, which worked with Metro Vancouver crews and local fire departments to control the blaze in the first critical hours, classified the fire as “held.” The cause of the fire remains under investigation, although it is believed to be human-caused.

Metro Vancouver spokesperson Brant Arnold-Smith said investigators have been in touch with B.C. Hydro as the fire started near high-voltage power lines that run through the park. As the first crews moved up steep slopes to fight the fire Wednesday afternoon, one of the lines came crashing down. They were forced to stand down until it could be de-energized.

At the same time, four B.C. Wildfire Service helicopters arrived on scene and began blanketing the fire with water, a six-and-a-half hour effort that helped ground crews get the upper hand on the blaze.

Aware of the demands on provincial firefighters, Arnold-Smith said Metro Vancouver ground crews took control later in the evening, working alongside volunteer firefighters from Sasamat Fire Rescue in dark, smoky conditions to establish a containment line and dig out hot spots with shovels and pickaxes before extinguishing them with water drawn from bladders filled from fire hydrants in the neighbourhoods below.

After an intense night, the Sasamat crew was rolling up their hoses and preparing to go back to their day jobs, while Metro Vancouver firefighters remained to monitor and mop up hot spots.

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Deputy Chief Colin Richardson said the high-stakes battle was personal for his members, who felt they were fighting to save their homes and neighbourhoods. He said the fire caught no one unaware, as the department has been monitoring conditions all season. More than a dozen volunteers sprang into action after the call came in about a possible brush fire.

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“I feel confident we did everything we could do and we did it well,” he said.

Several residents said they were grateful for the swift response. A sign posted outside a gated home with a long driveway thanked firefighters and support crews. As smoke that had clouded the skies began to dissipate Thursday afternoon, a deer wandered down from the mountain and lingered in the front yard of a home set among tall conifers that had been cleared of their lower branches, presumably to help prevent fire from spreading.

One resident, Shelley, who declined to give her last name, said she had recently returned from Armstrong where her mother was on evacuation alert for a wildfire. After packing her mom’s bags to go at a moment’s notice, she came home and did the same thing for herself.

“It was a little scary at first,” she said. “But there was so much attention here. The fire crews were all here. It felt super safe with all the attention.”

But she said she didn’t sleep Wednesday night.

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