Smoke rises from a wildfire burning near Whyte Lake which caused the closure of the Sea-To-Sky Highway linking Vancouver with the resort town of Whistler, in West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada June 26, 2023. BC Wildfire Service/Handout via REUTERS
(Reuters) -Canada's British Columbia Highway 99 was closed in both directions on Monday due to a brush fire, the British Columbia Wildfire Services (BCWS) said in a post on Twitter.
The brush fire broke out in southwest of Whyte Lake, approximately 500 meters (0.31 mile) from the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal, the BCWS said.
"The fire is currently estimated at three hectares in size and is highly visible to the public from many vantage points surrounding Horseshoe Bay," the fire service said, adding there had been many reports of smoke in the area visible through West Vancouver.
Canada is enduring one of its most destructive wildfire seasons, with the main oil-producing province of Alberta and Quebec facing some of the worst effects earlier this month.
(Reporting by Nilutpal Timsina and Rahat Sandhu in Bengaluru; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
