General Overview
On Sunday, July 21, the Cariboo Fire Centre assisted the City of Williams Lake in actioning the River Valley Wildfire (C21338). BCWS firefighting personnel, the Williams Lake Fire Department, Williams Lake First Nation Firefighters and other emergency responders worked quickly and efficiently to action the wildfire. Due to these efforts, within 48 hrs of initial detection, the River Valley Wildfire was listed as Under Control.
On Sunday, July 21, the Cariboo Fire Centre experienced hot and dry conditions with temperatures reaching the 30s and winds gusting up to 45 km/h. This caused many of the wildfires in the Cariboo, most of which started due to a lightning storm on July 19, to produce large amounts of smoke and display increased fire behavior. A convective storm passing through the Fire Centre resulted in 2538 cloud to ground lightning strikes on July 22, most of which occurred in the 100 Mile House Zone.
The Cariboo Fire Centre continues to prioritize initial attack of newly detected fires and maintaining a level of readiness throughout the Fire Centre. Resources are deployed to wildfires throughout the Centre and the Province, with appropriate and specialized resources remaining in the region for local preparedness and response.
To prevent human caused wildfires and protect public safety, campfires are prohibited throughout British Columbia.
In addition to Category 1 campfires, The Cariboo Fire Centre and the Tsilhqot’in (Xeni Gwet’in) Declared Title Area have prohibited Category 2, and Category 3 open fires including the following activities:
Fireworks
Sky lanterns
Burn barrels or burn cages of any size or description
Binary exploding targets
Tiki and similar kinds of torches
Chimineas
Air curtain burners
The campfire prohibition does not include the use of outdoor stoves. As per the Wildfire Regulation, an outdoor stove is a CSA-rated or ULC-rated device used outdoors for cooking, heat or ambiance that burns charcoal briquettes, liquid fuel or gaseous fuel, and has a flame height that is less than 15 cm tall.
Current Active Wildfires:
Quesnel Zone –
An IMT assumed control of the Groundhog Complex on July 23. The Complex includes Wildfire of Note Antler Creek (C11303) and 17 additional wildfires east of the city of Quesnel.
Wildfire of Note C11303 (Antler Creek) is 14,283 hectares in size and is Out of Control.
Central Cariboo Zone: Williams Lake (C2) & Horsefly (C3):
There are 14 active fires in the Central Cariboo Zone. This includes:
C21338 (River Valley) is 37 hectares in size and is Under Control.
C30788 is 1,555 hectares in size and is Out of Control
100 Mile House Zone (C4): There are 15 active fires in the 100 Mile House Zone. This includes:
C41440 (Moose Valley) is 240 hectares in size and is Out of Control.
C41501 (Twin Creek) is 280 hectares in size and is Under Control
C41504 (Sodium Lake) is 3.6 hectares
C41510 (Tobacco Creek) is 150 hectares and is Out of Control
Chilcotin Zone (C5): No active wildfires
Weather Forecast for Cariboo Fire Centre:
The Fire Centre should see periods of rain Thursday, with up to 5-10 mm of precipitation through most of the Cariboo. Isolated thundershower activity is also expected with some wind gusts up to 40-60 km/h. There is also a risk of hail in the forecast thundershower activity. Humidity values are expected to remain moderate to high today.
On Friday, the Fire Centre may see a risk of a thundershower activity throughout all the zones. Humidity values will continue to be moderate to high.
Outlook: Conditions will slowly stabilize with a risk of afternoon thundershowers on Saturday. Periods of precipitation are expected on Monday, with increasing rain expected on Tuesday.
There is another risk of thundershower activity on Friday. Higher wind speeds are anticipated on Saturday as a low-pressure center develops to the north.
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