Lightning ignites fire at 2010 Olympics alpine venue

VANCOUVER, Canada — A forest fire that forced the evacuation of hundreds of tourists from a mountain venue of the 2010 Winter Olympics caused no damage to infrastructure, a resort spokeswoman said Friday.
Firefighters were still battling the blaze on Blackcomb Mountain at Whistler Resort, which ignited Thursday after a lightning strike.
Bobsled, luge and skeleton events are to be held during the 2010 Winter Olympics at the resort 120 kilometers (75 miles) north of Vancouver in the Rocky Mountains.
"There has been no damage to the infrastructure, that includes infrastructure on the mountain as well any Olympic venues," resort spokeswoman Jessica Delaney told AFP.
Delaney said about 350 sightseers were evacuated from the mountain, where high temperatures and lack of rain have rendered the area "timber dry."
Delaney said that by 6 pm (2200 GMT) the fire covered 75 hectares (185 acres) and was burning out of control.
A statement by the British Columbia forestry service said ground crews, seven air tankers and several helicopters were battling the blaze.
The local fire chief, cited by CBC public television, the wind was blowing the blaze away from the village of Whistler.
Television images showed a great billow of smoke rising near ski runs while tanker planes dumped large quantities of liquid to slow the fire's spread.
"Anything can happen, but we are well prepared and trained to deal with these situations," Mike McCully, a spokesman for the British Columbia Fire Service told the CBC.
"We've got some very good resources on hand. In fact we have crews from Ontario, Manitoba, and our own top crews are working this fire," he said.
The Canadian west has been hit since the start of the month by a heat wave wave and dry weather that have been at the root of many major fires.
The town of Kelowna, about 400 kilometers (248 miles) east of Vancouver, has been surrounded by three fires that have ravaged nearly 5,000 hectares of forest, forcing the temporary evacuation of some 17,000 people.