Skip to content

Firefighters scramble to Parthenon Pl. as rocky bluff burns

Firefighters were working from land and sea Friday afternoon as a brush fire threatened to engulf the 5500 block of Parthenon Place in West Vancouver.

Firefighters were working from land and sea Friday afternoon as a brush fire threatened to engulf the 5500 block of Parthenon Place in West Vancouver.

After spotting huge plumes of smoke cascading over the rocky bluffs just off the water in West Vancouver, Eagle Island resident Stephanie La Porta called 911 shortly before 2 p.m.

Two fire engines and nine firefighters scrambled to the scene only to find a good portion of the 30- by 50-foot blaze was inaccessible due to steep cliffs.

“Logistically (it was) very taxing,” said West Vancouver assistant fire chief Jeff Bush. “Our crews would have had to put on harnesses and rope down to it.”

Watching from across the narrow reach, La Porta said the fire was almost extinguished at about 2:30 p.m. when a strong wind breathed new life into the blaze.

“We did have an offshore breeze working against us,” Bush said.

With hundreds of feet of hose snaking through the wooded area, West Van firefighters kept the fire at bay until two Vancouver fireboats arrived.

“They were able to hit what we couldn’t,” Bush said.

The fireboats “drenched the area,” La Porta reported.

By 4 p.m. firefighters were dousing the last of the hot spots.

Noting that her stomach turned over when she saw the fire, La Porta said she felt relief when the last of the flames died down.

“It’s a tinderbox out there right now and all of Eagle Harbour could’ve gone up in flames,” she said.

Neither La Porta nor Bush had any idea what started the fire, although Bush said he expected it was caused by a person.

With temperatures rising, the risk of a fire increases commensurately, Bush noted. The assistant fire chief reminded residents to exercise care and caution, particularly in parks and forests.

“Please use extreme caution in the wooded area,” he said.