Wildfire at Harrison Lake doubles in size

A wildfire east of Metro Vancouver that caused campsites to be evacuated on Sunday is still burning out of control, officials say.

As of Monday evening, the fire 30 kilometres north of Harrison Hot Springs was five per cent contained and estimated to cover 115 hectares.

That's about a quarter the size of Stanley Park, and almost twice the size the fire was estimated to be Monday morning.

Marg Drysdale with the B.C. Wildfire Service said the fire, which is burning on the eastern shore of Harrison Lake,  is human-caused and under investigation.

"Most of the fires to date have been because of carelessness," she said. "We are asking people to be cautious out there whenever they're handling anything they're going to light.

"We are going into a trend where we're going to see hotter, dryer temperatures over the next few weeks. We are definitely into summer. So we are asking everybody to please be cautious."

The fire was first reported on Saturday, burning in a steep area overlooking the lake.

Drysdale said heavy vehicles had trouble reaching the fire at first as campers' parked vehicles were clogging up the logging roads. Campers were ordered to leave the area Sunday afternoon.

Sixty firefighters, four officers, two tree fallers, a water truck, six helicopters, support staff and an air tanker were fighting the blaze.

The fire-danger rating is currently moderate or high for the majority of the Coastal Fire Centre.

Drysdale said an update on the situation would come later on Monday.