A chalet on Mount Washington was destroyed by a fast-moving fire on Tuesday night.
Flames were spotted just after midnight in the unoccupied home on Fosters Avenue.
“Started hearing some noises, assuming now that was all of the glass of the windows breaking,” witness Jamie Laidler told Global News.
Another witness, Cam Henderson, said that by the time the group made their way toward the fire, the building was fully engulfed.
However, flames were not the only thing lighting up the sky on Wednesday night.
Henderson said that shortly after midnight, there was a bright blue flash in the sky.
“There is evidence now that there was a meteor last night at the same time,” Laidler added.
According to the American Meteor Society, the fireball was reported by hundreds of eyewitnesses at 12:12 a.m. Pacific time.
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Minutes later, the handful of people who happened to be staying on Mount Washington spotted the flames in the unoccupied chalet.
They called 911.
“The roof was fully engulfed,” fire captain Chris Hounsell told Global News.
“Shortly after that, the roof collapsed in on the structure and we started protecting the two structures next to it for exposure protection.”
It is not the first time flames have ripped through the alpine resort.
In March 2020, a large fire destroyed another chalet and eight people had to escape.
In 2015, another blaze destroyed three additional structures, underscoring the need for fire protection on the mountain.
The Comox Valley Regional District has since purchased property for a dedicated fire hall that is set to open later this year.
“We do have about a handful of firefighters that do live up here year-round,” Hounsell added.
“And we also have partnerships with Oyster River and Merville and they do respond as well.”
It is not 100 per cent clear that the meteor actually caused the fire, but the cause is still under investigation.
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
