Sunshine Village to close as battle against nearby wildfire is stepped up
Sunshine Village is temporarily shutting down as it becomes a front line in the struggle against a growing wildfire.
Operators of the ski resort have found accommodation for 150 guests for the weekend in a busy Banff townsite amid stepped-up efforts to halt the Verdant wildfire burning 2.5 kilometres away.
But Parks Canada officials say the resort’s closure — to begin Friday — isn’t due to a direct threat posed by the fire that’s now grown to up to 3,000 hectares in Kootenay National Park and Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park.
“There is no current threat to Sunshine Village,” said Rick Kubian, incident commander on the wildfire.
“This phase of work will see more helicopters and crews in the Sunshine Village area and may create additional smoke, therefore it is best that visitors not be in the area for the duration of the work.”
Because of its proximity to the fire and the difficulty in getting crews into challenging alpine terrain, the resort is being used as a staging area in the effort, said Kendra Scurfield, spokeswoman for Sunshine Village.
“It is a disruption, but, of course, safety is a priority and we’re happy to work closely with Parks Canada in their work to control this fire,” said Scurfield.
The resort’s 84 rooms are sold out, but she said its operators have been able to find lodging for those guests — for now — in Banff hotels hit by cancellations due to the wildfire smoke.
Scurfield said she expects the closure to last between two and five days.
Parks Canada has increased its force to 75 firefighters and six helicopters to battle the blaze, which was touched off by lightning.
While the fire has grown, it hasn’t moved closer to the ski resort in the past few days, said Scurfield.
“It’s been expanding more into Mount Assiniboine Park,” she said. “They’ve done a great job of preventing the fire from coming into the Sunshine Village area.”
Sprinklers and hoses have also been set up at the resort to douse its buildings in case the fire encroaches.
Meanwhile, smoke from that fire and others ravaging B.C. continues to cast a haze over Calgary, though it wasn’t as heavy as forecast.
On Thursday afternoon, Environment Canada issued an air quality rating of three, in the lower risk level — considerably less than an earlier prediction of eight, which is considered high risk for people with respiratory or cardiovascular conditions.
It’s forecast to further improve to a low-risk rating of two for Thursday night and Friday.
Bans on open fires remain in all of the Rocky Mountain national parks west of Calgary and in Waterton, as well as much of the foothills southwest of the city.