There is a history of wildfires in the Revelstoke area, though it seems only one — way back in 1892 – really threatened homes in the community itself. The newspaper at the time noted it burned close enough to some homes to make it “uncomfortably hot for the occupiers.”
A few house fires had to be put out but the newspaper’s main concern seemed to be that the fire was “eating its way into good timber.”
The Revelstoke Community Wildfire Protection Plan notes that in the early 1900s a fire swept rapidly from Albert Canyon, down the Illecillewaet River and towards town before winds caused it to turn northwards into Mount Revelstoke National Park.
Another significant fire burned the western slopes of Mount Mackenzie and Mount Cartier in the 1930s.
Archie McConnachie, who worked at the Revelstoke firebase from 1976 to 2000, recalled 1998 being the most serious fire year he dealt with in the district, with about 200 fires in the Columbia district, but none right near town. 1985 was also a busy fire year in the region.
In 2003, while more than 2,400 wildfires swept through B.C., Revelstokians watched nervously as a fire burned on the north flank of Mount Mackenzie. In Mount Revelstoke National Park, a fire in the St. Cyr Creek drainage grew to 400 hectares in a day before wildfire crews got it under control.
The last “close call” was a wildfire that burned on the north side of Mount Macpherson in 2006. While the smoke and flames were visible from town, it never seriously threatened the city thanks to the efforts of wildfire crews.