Wildfire near Squamish triples in size overnight: BC Wildfire Service

Wildfire near Squamish grows A wildfire burning near Squamish, B.C. has tripled in size to 50 hectares.

A wildfire burning near Squamish more than tripled in size overnight, growing from 15 to 50 hectares.

Officials with the BC Wildfire Service suspect the blaze first broke out Monday as a result of a homeowner doing open burns in the area. The exact cause of the fire is still under investigation.

At that time, the fire was only 3.5 hectares in size. It had grown to 15 hectares by the next day, and 50 hectares on Wednesday.

Footage from CTV's Chopper 9 showed a helicopter dropping water on the fire Monday and there were firefighters on the ground battling the blaze.

Fire information officer for the Coastal Fire Centre, Donna McPherson, told CTV News Vancouver that six people and a helicopter were at the scene Monday night, and that an additional 20-person crew showed up Tuesday morning.

The blaze came after an especially dry March on the South Coast, but there's finally a bit of promising news for firefighters: seven consecutive days of rain on the forecast.

According to Environment Canada, the rain will continue through the weekend. In fact, as of Wednesday, the agency expects rain to fall every day until at least next Tuesday.

The unseasonably warm temperatures people in the region have been experiencing over the past several weeks are also expected to cool slightly, with daily highs expected to reach around the low- to mid-teens over the rest of the week.

The weekend highs are expected to be between 10 C and 12 C.

After experiencing two record-breaking wildfires seasons in a row, wildfire officials will likely be keeping a close eye on spring rainfall across B.C.

The amount of precipitation during this period can be an important role in the number and severity of wildfires in the provinces come summer.

With files from CTV Vancouver's Kendra Mangione