Given B.C's beetle kill forests and unusually dry summer weather, we knew it was a matter of time before a significant fire occurred in Whistler.

There was no way that Canada's three levels of government would let the "crown jewel" of B.C.'s tourism industry and the official host town of the 2010 Olympics  burn to the ground, with only 196 days to go.

We tested this theory yesterday when a Rank 4 forest fire broke out on Blackcomb Mountain. The fire was started by lightning that struck north of Crystal Ridge, and quickly spread from 4 to 75 hectares. Over 300 tourists and staff were evacuated from the mountain facilities and hiking/biking trails.