Residents of Mission, B.C., told to shelter in place after fire on derelict vessel
Some residents of the Fraser Valley city of Mission have been told to shelter in place after a fire on a derelict vessel overnight on Saturday.
The City of Mission issued an emergency alert just before 4 a.m. PT warning of a fire on the abandoned Queen of Sidney ferry, which was moored just northwest of Matsqui Island approximately 55 km east of Vancouver.
B.C. Ferries says the ship was in operation from 1960 to 2000. The 102-metre vessel was sold in 2002. Its current owner is unknown.
On its website, Mission says the cause of the fire is not yet known but it is considered to be suspicious.
Residents near the fire — from Chester Street to 287 Street, including the Silverdale area — have been told to stay indoors, close all windows and doors, and turn off any ventilation systems that draw in air from outside.
“Police attended the area and confirmed a large plume of smoke coming from the vessel, which had an obvious impact on air quality in the area,” read a statement from Mission RCMP on Saturday morning.
Police said that, as of Saturday morning, there was nothing to indicate the fire was intentionally set — but investigators haven’t been able to board the vessel due to the hazardous nature of the smoke.
CBC News has reached out to the Canadian Coast Guard for this story. A spokesperson for the Environment Ministry deferred comment to the Mission fire department.
The Queen of Sidney is among a number of derelict vessels along B.C. waterways that have raised environmental concerns in recent years, particularly given they could pose public safety risks.
In late March, the iconic McBarge vessel — a barge which housed a McDonald’s restaurant during Expo 86 — sank on the Fraser River near Maple Ridge, B.C., northwest of where the Queen of Sidney was moored.
