Review promised after controlled wildfire burn gets away from crews
Posted August 4, 2017 6:40 am.
Last Updated August 4, 2017 11:32 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
ASHCROFT (NEWS 1130) – BC’s largest wildfire continues to cause problems for firefighters who are now being forced to defend the tactics they’ve used to try and fully contain it.
The Elephant Hill wildfire — burning near Ashcroft, Cache Creek and Clinton since July 7th — has already scorched 93,000 hectares. “We have been used planned ignitions on this fire and fires across the province for weeks now and, in almost all cases, they go as planned and a lot of planning does go into that,” explains Chief Fire Information Officer Kevin Skrepnek.
He admits one controlled burn earlier this week ended up sparking a new wildfire that’s forced more people out of their homes. “This was an unfortunate turn of the weather. The team that’s out there right now on this fire is some of our most seasoned, experienced people. To be frank, this is an active fire, that if we hadn’t have taken action, it likely would have gotten into this area regardless.”
He adds the Elephant Hill fire, formerly known as the Ashcroft Reserve fire, remains only 30 per cent contained. “I understand that people are starting to lose patience when things like this are happening. In terms of the use of back burns, it is one of the most effective tools for fighting fires of this size. What we’re doing out there is quite necessary.”
The wildfire was sparked by people and investigators are still looking for those responsible.
