Boston Bar, B.C., residents look on as wildfire burns near small highway community
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
We need your support!
Local journalism needs your support!
As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed.
Now, more than ever, we need your support.
Starting at $15.99 plus taxes every four weeks you can access your Brandon Sun online and full access to all content as it appears on our website.
Subscribe Nowor call circulation directly at (204) 727-0527.
Your pledge helps to ensure we provide the news that matters most to your community!
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Brandon Sun access to your Free Press subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on brandonsun.com
- Read the Brandon Sun E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
*Your next Free Press subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $20.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
BOSTON BAR – Jagdip Singh Bihal says he’s opening his highway-side restaurant in Boston Bar, B.C., earlier than usual to accommodate wildfire crews battling a growing blaze near the small community.
Bihal runs JB’s Drive-In Restaurant, just a few hundred metres down Highway 1, where the route has been closed due to wildfires spreading out of control with high winds on either side of the Fraser River.
Bihal says the fire turned ugly over the last week as the winds picked up, and he’s not seen anything like it in the four years he’s been running the diner.
Fernando Balanta has been staying with a friend in Boston Bar for a couple weeks, and a trip to the dump last week became “surreal” when they spotted the start of a blaze near North Bend, where residents have since fled.
Balanta says the fire has made things “a bit nerve wracking,” and he worries about his friend’s children, peoples’ properties and their pets.
He says many people in the community have already packed up and left, and he and his cohort are packed and ready to leave if the fire situation worsens, but for now he’s staying put and documenting the blaze for his YouTube channel.
“People are pretty mixed up,” Balanta told The Canadian Press. “I think everybody’s just hoping for the best.”
Bihal said he couldn’t get a supplier to deliver to his restaurant, so he sent people to Surrey in his own van to stock up, as fire crews have frequented the diner while in town.
He said it’s been scary for much of the town.
“Hopefully it’s going to rain and help us,” Bihal said.
The Ainsley Creek wildfire started earlier this month and is considered out of control. It is roughly 170 square kilometres in size. The nearby Brunswick Creek blaze is more than 25 square kilometres in size.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 10, 2026.