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Kitsilano fire creates huge smoke plume, power outage

The fire is confirmed to be out
Brendan Kergin
Brendan Kergin
kitsilano-may-17-fire
The smoke from a tree fire towered over Vancouver's Kitsilano neighbourhood on May 17, 2023.JaysZ/Twitter

A fire in Kitsilano that drew lots of attention from across Vancouver has been knocked down.

Around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday (May 17), during the morning commute, a tree caught fire in the 2900-block of West 5th Avenue, not far from Macdonald Street and West 4th Avenue. While a very obvious smoke plume appeared above the site, Vancouver Fire Rescue Services (VFRS) spokesperson Capt. Matthew Trudeau says the fire has been knocked down and contained.

Along with the tree, sheds caught fire. Trudeau says it didn't spread beyond the location. He hasn't heard of any injuries at the scene.

The fire is the reason for a massive power outage in Kitsilano affecting thousands of people. BC Hydro's outage map currently shows two overlapping areas each with over 2,000 customers that are without power.

The listed cause is a tree down across the wires. Trudeau says while the fire is the reason for the outage, the actual cause of the fire hasn't been determined yet and it's possible the tree ignited somehow unrelated to the hydro wires, and then the power went out.

Fire investigators and BC Hydro crews are both headed to the scene.

Entering fire season

While the cause is unclear for this fire, Trudeau says there has been an increase in fires in backyards and on balconies in the city.

Two common ignition sources come from discarded smoking material and cooking.

"The hot weather is definitely increasing the fire risk," he says.

One situation he says has happened is people tossing a cigarette butt into a planter; most times of the year in Vancouver the damp soil will put it out, or at least keep it from igniting the plant.

However, with the dryness lately, Trudeau says those smoking materials aren't being put out, and are, in fact, causing ignition.

"We're just asking people to be extra diligent with the increased temperatures and drier weather," says Trudeau. "Especially with smoking material or cooking or anything with heat or an ignition source."