McLure fire

In the hot dry summer of 2003, a fire began to burn in the North Thompson Valley which destroyed numerous homes and businesses.

This wildfire started when Mike Barre threw his cigarette butt into the grass on his property in McLure BC.

On Wednesday, July 30, 2003, the careless discarding of a cigarette butt by McLure resident Mike Barre, into dry pine needles and withered grass, began a nightmare for those who lived in the North Thompson Valley.

[3] The following day, Thursday, July 31, crews, air tankers, helicopters and heavy equipment worked the fire to establish and reinforce control lines.

The fire on both the east and west side of the river moved fast, with an estimated rate of spread of 80 meters per minute.

[3] By August 5, the fire no longer was a threat to Barriere and its adjacent communities, however, hot spots continued to flare-up throughout the path of its initial destruction.

[3] Fire Departments that took part included:  McLure, Barriere, Chu Chua, Clearwater, Buckhorn, Bear Lake, Williams Lake, Beaverly, Pine View, Red Rock/Stoner, McBride, Ferndale/Tabor, View Royal, Pilot Mountain, Abbotsford, Mill Bay, Mission, Langley Township, Maple Ridge, Campbell River, Shawnigan Lake, Keremeos, Lower Nicola, Sicamous, Central Saanich, Chilliwack, Langley City, Surrey, Grand Forks City, Nanaimo, Ness Lake, Quintech (Alberta), Nicholson, Whistler, Vernon, Kelowna, Nelson, Cowichan Bay, Fort St. John, White Rock, Port Coquitlam, Sechelt, Howe Sound, Gibsons, North Okanagan Regional District, and Cominco.

[3] The McLure fire caused the devastating loss or damage of 72 homes and 9 businesses in the Lower North Thompson Valley.

[3] During the McLure Wildfire two air tanker crew members and a helicopter pilot lost their lives while fighting the fires in British Columbia:  Ian MacKay, Eric Ebert, and Bernhard Georg Freiherr “Ben” von Hardenberg.

Funding for the site came from generous donations that were given to mark the events surrounding the wildfire, being and important historical moment in time for the North Thompson Valley.

The site is dedicated to all of the firefighters, volunteers, individuals, churches, service groups, businesses, organizations, and government bodies – those who admirably displayed what the human spirit can accomplish when everyone works together.