Fire near Pemberton, B.C. is now being held, says BCWS, but smoke on way

Smoke from the Signal Hill fire rises outside the Village of Pemberton, B.C., on Thursday, July 16, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Brenna Owen

Environment Canada is telling British Columbians to brace for poor air quality in the coming days, even as wildfire officials have downgraded a fire north of Whistler, B.C. and lifted evacuation alerts elsewhere.

The weather agency said in an air-quality warning issued Sunday that wildfire smoke is causing or expected to cause poor air quality and reduced visibility across multiple regions in the province over the next 24 to 48 hours.

It said those regions include the Fraser Canyon, the South Thompson and the northeastern corner of the province, with the alert area almost reaching Prince George.

The warning came after the BC Wildfire Service announced that the Signal Hill wildfire burning near Pemberton, B.C. has been held. The new designation means the fire is projected to remain within its current boundaries.

But it also said that more than 100 wildfires continue to burn in the province, and that the coming week will see a higher risk of wildfires sparked by lightning.

Sula Coulson, who fled the Signal Hill fire on Wednesday night when she saw flames coming over the hill, said she was glad to learn the fire isn’t spreading, but she hasn’t returned home yet.

She’s now in Richmond, B.C., with her two horses, Logan and Vinnie, who she brought with her.

“I was lucky because my sister manages a barn,” Coulson said in an interview Sunday.

Their trip out was hectic. She got help from a neighbour loading one of the horses, but then her trailer blew a tire in Squamish and she didn’t have a spare.

“It was just a series of crazy events,” she said. “But my husband then left the farm, came down, we changed the tire and I continued on, you know, and got to Richmond about 5 a.m.”

The Village of Pemberton on Sunday rescinded its evacuation alert, saying the threat to life and safety has passed.

But the evacuation order for an area south of the community remained in place as part of efforts to support firefighting measures.

The wildfire service said the Signal Hill fire’s size was just under one square-kilometre.

Most of the fires currently burning in B.C. are concentrated in the southern interior, including Boston Bar, where the Brunswick Creek and Ainslie Creek fires continue to burn out of control.

Figures from the BC Wildfire Service showed 108 active wildfires across British Columbia on Sunday, with 770 wildland firefighters responding to them.

A total of 44 wildfires were burning out of control on Sunday afternoon.

The service said in an update that widespread thunder activity is forecast, raising the risk of lightning strikes.

It also said that warm and drying conditions are expected to persist throughout the coming week, expanding further north and west across the province.

The Brunswick Creek’s size was listed at 40-square kilometres on Sunday, while the Ainslie Creek fire was listed at 160-square kilometres.

Boston Bar, as well as other nearby areas in the Fraser Canyon, remain subject to evacuation orders.

The wildfire service said in a statement that 401 evacuees were receiving support across British Columbia.

It said 580 properties were on evacuation orders, and just under 1,800 properties were on evacuation alert after the Thompson-Nicola Regional District gave the all-clear on the evacuation alert for 12 properties along Green Lake in a rural area northeast of 70 Mile House, B.C.

That regional district listed two evacuation orders, including one for the Fiftynine Creek Wildfire impacting 131 properties, and four evacuation alerts.

The Fraser Valley Regional District, which includes the Boston Bar area, listed four evacuation orders, while the Cariboo Regional District listed one evacuation order and two evacuation alerts.

With files from Marissa Birnie in Vancouver

This report by Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press, was first published on July 19, 2026.