On Sunday evening a fire tore through Pier Park in New Westminster, southeast of Vancouver. The old wooden pier, urban beach, and volleyball courts have been destroyed. The new part of the park that was reconstructed and rebuilt eight years ago, including the festival lawn concession stand and playgrounds, have been saved. The coast guard was unable to deploy a containment boom on the water due to the impact it would have had on on-water firefighting efforts, and has issued a Navigational Warning for the Fraser River as a significant amount of large, wooden debris continue to drift down the Fraser. The incident worsened the poor air quality already in the Lower Mainland due to wildfires south of the border. A suspect has been identified and is facing arson-related charges.
