Thursday, July 15, 2021

July 15th, 2021 Cariboo Fire Centre General Update

Courtesy of the Cariboo Fire Centre:

There are currently 60 active wildfires within the Cariboo Fire Centre.

The fire danger rating in the Cariboo is currently mostly Extreme with area of High across the centre. The BC Wildfire Service website displays the current fire danger rating for the province here: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/wildfire-status/wildfire-situation/fire-danger

At this time, the BC Wildfire Service has not implemented any backcountry closures. All trails and backroads that are not affected by Area Restriction Orders, Evacuation Orders, or are otherwise under municipal jurisdiction, remain open for public use. Members of the public must remain vigilant and act responsibly when recreating in the backcountry. Know before you go: check the local fire danger rating, download the BC Wildfire Service app and stay up to date with location-specific wildfire information.

Wildfire of Note

There are nine Wildfire of Note within the Cariboo Fire Centre and four are being managed by the Northeast Incident Management Team (Flat Lake, Succour Lake and Canim Lake) and one by the Spark Lake Incident Management Team (Young Lake). Below is a summary for your information, and you can also find these details on the Wildfire of Note page,  which is updated twice daily. Before this summary is sent out, the Wildfire of Note pages will be updated.

Big Stick Lake

The Big Stick Lake fire is located south of Anahim Lake and North of Big Stick and Clearwater Lake. It is estimated at 4000 hectares. Sustained winds were experienced yesterday, leading to continued fire growth. Highway 20 near Kleena Kleene remains closed. This measure was taken to protect the public from hazards as well as to ensure firefighter safety. Structural protection specialists will continue to do assessments tomorrow. Crews will work today to safely reopen Hwy 20 through danger tree assessment and removal, as well as to secure and restablish guards on southwest side of Hwy 20 and start developing a tactical plan for the northwest side of Hwy 20.

An Evacuation Alert was upgraded to an order by the Cariboo Regional District (CRD) for the Big Stick Lake area.

Hotnarko

The Hotnarko fire is located west of Ulkatcho and Anahim Lake. It is estimated to be 100 hectares in size. Crews will finish the guard on the east side and head north to Hwy 20, follow up with ground crews and hose lay.

An Evacuation Alert was issued by the Cariboo Regional District (CRD) and Ulkatcho First Nations.

Purdy Lake

The Purdy Lake wildfire is located east of Purdy Lake and south of Batnuni Lake. It is estimated to be 3600 hectares in size. Yesterday, there was increased activity on the western and eastern flank. The guard on the northern flank is complete. The focus is on re-establishing containment lines on the western and eastern flanks while ground personnel continue to complete a hose lay.

An evacuation alert has been issued by the Cariboo Regional District for the Titetown and Nazko north area.


Flat Lake – Managed by Northeast IMT

The Flat Lake wildfire is now estimated to be 8,725 hectares in size. Fire growth continues to be primarily to the east, towards Highway 97, and to the north. Due to suppression efforts, the fire has not yet reached the highway, and as a result the highway has been reopened. An advisory remains in place regarding smoky conditions in the area. The highway could be closed again on short notice.

Heavy equipment has been establishing machine guards and connecting to existing features, such as roads and lakes, which serve as natural fuel breaks. Helicopters will continue to support with bucketing activities today. Due to fire behaviour, it is difficult for ground crews to engage in direct suppression at this time.

Structural protection specialists are on scene today and are deploying structural protection units with the assistance of ground crews.

Additional fire growth is expected today due to wind conditions. The opportunity for aerial ignitions is being examined on the west flank of the fire. This controlled ignition would bring the edge of the fire to a control line in an area this is workable by ground crews. Ignitions will only occur if conditions are suitable.

Canim Lake – Managed by Northeast IMT

The Canim Lake wildfire is estimated to be 1,651 hectares. Ground personnel remained on site performing night operations throughout the evening, focusing on structure protection and maintaining the sprinkler line that has been established in the area.

While some growth has occurred down the slope on the north flank of the fire, fire activity in this area is less challenging.

Heavy equipment will continue work to establish a fire guard and an additional contingency guard on the northeast corner of the fire. Heavy equipment continues to work on other areas of the fire as well.

Structure protection crews have been deployed and are being supported by fire crew personnel. Helicopters are supporting with bucketing activities.

The Cariboo Regional District has expanded the existing evacuation alerts on both the north and south sides of Canim Lake.    

Succour Lake (C41191)

The Succour Lake wildfire is located on the north side of Canim Lake. It is estimated to be 528 hectares. Crews have completed a hose lay around a 12-hectare spot fire on the southeast flank and continue to cool hot spots. Crews will begin actioning the south flank of the fire today.

The Cariboo Regional District has expanded the existing evacuation alerts on both the north and south sides of Canim Lake.    

Young Lake (C41097)

The wildfire burning near Young Lake is estimated to be about 680 hectares. The fires (C41097, C41412, C41560, and C41610) have burned into one fire and are estimated to be 680 hectares in combined size. Increased fire behaviour has been observed in the past 24-hours. The Incident Management Team on the Sparks Lake Wildfire is resourcing the Young Lake wildfire as needed and BC Wildfire Services officers are monitoring the situation daily. This decision is based on a variety of factors including but not limited to, challenges to crew safety and distance from communities.

The fires (C41097, C41412, C41560, and C41610) have burned into one fire and are estimated to be 680 hectares in combined size. Increased fire behaviour has been observed in the past 24-hours. The Incident Management Team on the Sparks Lake wildfire is resourcing the Young Lake wildfire as needed and BC Wildfire Services officers are monitoring the situation daily. This decision is based on a variety of factors including but not limited to, challenges to crew safety and distance from communities.

Summary of other wildfires

Below is a summary of some of the active fires, by zone, as of today. For current sizes on wildfires not listed below, please check the All Current Wildfires web page. All fires and reports of wildfires are continuing to be assess and actioned in priority sequence.

Quesnel Fire Zone

There are nine active wildfires burning in this zone.

Central Cariboo Zone

There are 10 active wildfires burning in this zone.

Chilcotin Zone

There are five active wildfires burning in this zone.

100 Mile Fire Zone

The Incident Management Team is managing wildfire to the north of Highway 24 and east of Highway 97 within this zone and yesterday took control of the Flat Lake. The Sparks Lake Incident Management team is managing the wildfire near young Lake. There are 37 active wildfires burning in this zone.

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