AmericasPorts and Logistics

Squamish Terminals fire mostly contained, shelter-in-place order lifted

Vancouver: The Squamish Terminals fire that engulfed much of the dock on Thursday night was 90% contained by Friday morning.

The blaze, believed to have been fuelled by creosote-covered pilings, forced the evacuation of the workforce from the terminals, located north of Vancouver, British Columbia.

For several hours a noxious smell had pervaded the community of Squamish and surrounding areas, and authorities issued a shelter in place order for residents. By Friday morning that order was lifted, allowing children to attend school, although they would not be allowed to play outside.

While the flames were mostly subdued there was still some smouldering on the underside of the dock at mid-morning. Fire crews were waiting for high tide to recede before extinguishing the last embers.

Initial reports that timber carrier the Star Atlantic was the likely source of the blaze were being reconsidered on Friday.

Mayor of Squamish, Patricia Heintzman, praised the local and regional response to the fire which was tackled by crews from West Vancouver and Vancouver as well as the Squamish brigade.

“Considering it could have been even worse, I think things went really well,” she said.

The extent of the damage and the confirmed source of the fire were yet to be determined.

Squamish Terminals is a deep-water facility in Howe Sound with two berths and three warehouses offering about 47,000 square metres of storage.

Donal Scully

With 28 years experience writing and editing for newspapers in the UK and Hong Kong, Donal is now based in California from where he covers the Americas for Splash as well as ensuring the site is loaded through the Western Hemisphere timezone.
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