There
are currently 43 active wildfires within the Cariboo Fire Centre.
Today is forecasted to be
mainly sunny skies with cooler temperatures. The fire danger rating in the
Quesnel Zone is high with pockets of moderate to low. The
Chilcotin, Central, and 100 Mile Zones remain high to extreme. 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 recommended backcountry
closures. All trails and backroads that are not affected by Area Restriction
Orders, Evacuation Orders, or are otherwise under municipal
jurisdiction or BC Parks jurisdiction, remain open for public use. There
are currently several provincial parks affected by wildfires; check the BC
Parks website for updates on alerts and closures. 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.
Wildfires of Note
There are nine Wildfires of Note
within the Cariboo Fire Centre. Three fires are being managed by an Incident
Management Team (Succour Lake, Flat Lake, and S of Canim 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.
Purdy Lake
The wildfire
is estimated to be 8,000 hectares in size. There has been no
growth on the fire the past few days. The fire received a lot of rain and
wind yesterday. Crews had to withdraw due to the risk of falling trees. BC
Parks have been engaged regarding suppression in the Kluskoil park.
An Evacuation Alert has been issued
by the Cariboo Regional District. This Evacuation Alert area now borders the
Evacuation Order and Evacuation Alert issued by the Regional District of
Bulkley-Nechako for the Grizzly Lake wildfire in the Prince George Fire Centre.
McKinley Lake
The McKinley Lake wildfire is 1,834
hectares in size. No significant growth occurred yesterday. The fire
received a little bit of rain yesterday. Crews are working around the north,
south and east flank patrolling and mopping up.
An Evacuation Alert issued by the
Cariboo Regional District for Crooked Lake remains in effect.
Chasm
The Chasm wildfire
is 410 hectares. Due to the winds in the area, the fire pushed
toward the northwest corner. Tankers actioned the fire and were able to keep
the excursion at 10 hectares in size. Crews remained on site overnight, working
to reenforce fire guard. Most of the growth was on the east side and the
northeast winds pushed the fire away from highway. Fire is only
0.8 kilometers from Highway 97. Following a recommendation made
by BCWS, the CN railway track was shut down due to the proximity to the fire
and the damage that the fire caused to the train tracks.
An Evacuation Alert has been issued
by the Thompson-Nicola Regional District.
Young Lake
The Young Lake wildfire is
estimated at 2,631hectares and is classified as “Out of
Control.”
There has been new growth on the
fire, but due to smoke in the area, a new track of the fire cannot be
completed. The north end of the fire saw aggressive fire behavior and growth
yesterday. Crews were on site yesterday setting up structure protection
apparatuses. A Structure Protection Unit has been deployed from
Williams Lake to do structure protection and triage on Sharpe Lake and then work
on Eagan Lake.
The Cariboo Fire Centre
is in the process of taking this fire over from the Sparks
Lake Incident Management Team.
Big Stick Lake
The wildfire north of Big Stick
Lake is estimated to be 7,271 hectares in size. Variable and
gusty winds have led to continued fire wildfire activity on the northeast part
of the fire, around Long Lake along the Smoky Lake FSR, as well as burning
interior pockets of fuel within the perimeter. Firefighters, bucketing
helicopters, and heavy equipment are working to reinforce the fire guards in
critical areas around the fire, supported by structural protection specialists.
Firefighters are working to conduct a planned ignition as optimal conditions
allow on the northeast corner of the fire, as well as the southeast and southwest
flanks to secure the guard lines that have been placed by heavy
equipment. Highway 20 remains open to Bella Coola, though road crews are
on standby to close the highway as needed based on wildfire activity or
operations. Telus has completed assessments of
the fibre optic lines will be done, and has contractors
working to replace the poles that were compromised by previous wildfire growth.
An Evacuation Order is in effect
for the Big Stick wildfire area. This order replaces the Evacuation Alert issued
by the Cariboo Regional District on July 10.
An Evacuation Alert issued by the
Cariboo Regional District has been expanded and remains in effect for the Big
Stick wildfire area.
Hotnarko Creek
The Hotnarko Creek
wildfire is estimated at 1,500 hectares. The fire has not crossed
Highway 20, and demonstrated low intensity
fire behaviour yesterday. Firefighters are working along the north and east flank to contain the
fire perimeter, supported by heavy equipment. Road closures may occur to continue supporting ongoing operations and to
maintain public safety, check DriveBC for updates.
Evacuations: An
Evacuation Alert is in effect for the Anahim Lake area.
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.
Quesnel
Fire Zone
There
are six active wildfires burning in this zone.
Two fires are now classified as under control and four are out of control.
Central
Cariboo Zone
There are seven active
wildfires burning in this zone.
Under fires are now classified as
under control and ive are out of control.
Chilcotin
Zone
There are five active
wildfires burning in this zone.
Two fires are now classified
as under control and three are out of control.
100
Mile Fire Zone
The
Incident Management Team (IMT) is managing wildfires to the north of
Highway 24 and east of Highway 97 within this zone. The is managing 18 of
the 25 active wildfires in the zone, with the Cariboo Fire Centre managing
the remainder. 13 of the fires in the 100 Mile zone are now
under control, three are being held, and nine are out of
control.
100 Mile Incident Management Team
Managed Wildfires of Note:
S of Canim Lake
This wildfire is estimated at
2,487 hectares. Crews will conduct hand ignitions in areas where the
fire did not come down to the guard and establish a 10 ft blackline where the
fire did come down to the guard. Crews will continue to patrol areas that
have been blacklined. Heavy equipment is working to finish the south
guard.
The Cariboo Regional District has
upgraded the existing Evacuation Alert to an Evacuation Order on the south side
of Canim Lake. The north side remains on an Evacuation Alert.
Succour Lake
The Succour Lake wildfire
is estimated at 529 hectares. There has been minimal growth of this wildfire
over the last 10 days. It is not immediately threatening any communities or
access roads at this time. However, due to the potential for warm and dry
conditions combined with the proximity to values, evacuation alerts remain in
effect.
The Cariboo Regional District has
expanded the existing evacuation alerts on both the north and south sides of
Canim Lake (See above).
Flat Lake
The Flat Lake
wildfire is 26,191 hectares and is classified as “Out of
Control.” Today, heavy equipment will be working to gain access and
establish indirect control lines on the east flank near Davis Lake working from
Bullock Lake Road moving northwards to the Gustafsen guard. Crews will be
patrolling the transmission line. An additional guard will be built in
the southeast below the Stormy Road. On the north end, crews will be
working to connect existing road systems in the vicinity of Gustafsen and
Neilson Lakes. We are still determining exactly how much rain the fire
received but it is thought that it received more than 5mm which provides crews
a day or two to take advantage of the expected lower
fire behaviour to build guard and conduct other operations.
There are 15 helicopters available to continue to action the fires within this
complex with bucketing activities. Structural protection specialists
continue to support the residences and properties on the Bullock Lake Road.
Due to significant winds there was
increased fire activity in the south and southeast. The fire did not
cross Highway 97. Highway 97 was closed from 5 km south of 100 Mile House
to 7 km north of Clinton. Smoke from this fire was causing poor visibility and
unsafe conditions. The Highway is now open.
On July 17, 2021, the Thompson
Nicola Regional District upgraded an Evacuation Alert to an Order for the Flat
Lake Wildfire Electoral E (Bonaparte Plateau) in the vicinity of Gustafsen and
Neilson Lakes. The additional Evacuation Alert issued by the Thompson Nicola
Regional District remains in place. The Evacuation Order and Alert issued by
the Cariboo Regional District remain in place.
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