Massive BC wildfire contained as season winds down
Posted September 21, 2017 2:16 pm.
Last Updated September 22, 2017 8:27 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated. The previous version of this article incorrectly stated that this fire was caused by lightning.
ASHCROFT (NEWS 1130) – The massive wildfire that has destroyed scores of homes and properties since it started near Ashcroft exactly 11 weeks ago today is now 95 per cent contained.
Fire Information Officer Erin Catherall says cooler weather and spotty rain helped crews make excellent headway on the 19-square-kilometre blaze. “With the 95 per cent containment the status has been changed to be ‘held.’ We haven’t seen any additional growth on the fire perimeter in the last week.”
Yesterday, the Thompson-Nicola and Cariboo regional districts lifted the final evacuation alerts — meaning all evacuation orders and alerts have now been rescinded across the province.
At the height of the fires, almost 50,000 people were forced from their homes, some lost everything.
Firefighting efforts have cost the provincial government more than $500 million since the season began on April 1st.
This year’s wildfire season has been the worst on record in BC with help arriving from across the country, Mexico, the US and as far as Australia. The previous record was set in 1958 when 855,000 hectares of forest burned.
