BC firefighters prepare for windy, dry weather; wildfires of note remain stable
Posted May 28, 2018 7:21 am.
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KAMLOOPS – Firefighters in BC are preparing for more challenging conditions this week, as windy, hot and dry weather could fuel the flames of three large wildfires.
Kevin Skrepnik, chief fire information officer for the BC Wildfire Service, says fires at Allie Lake, Xusum Creek and Tommy Lakes have remained fairly stable over the weekend, but that could change.
The fire burning at Allie Lake, 55 kilometres northwest of Kamloops, remains out of control across about 27 square kilometres. It is still uncontained.
The Xusum Creek fire, 35 kilometres west of Lilloet, is holding at about five square kilometres and has been 25 per cent contained.
The BC Wildfire Service has placed an area restriction order on travel over Crown land near the 169-square-kilometre Tommy Lakes fire, northeast of mile 109 on the Alaska Highway. The order is due to concerns about how quickly the flames are spreading and possible public interference with fire control.
Those three fires have each prompted local evacuation orders.
BC Wildfire Services helped local crews fight a grass fire that broke out in West Kelowna near the Mission Hills winery on Saturday night.
That fire also prompted some brief tactical evacuations, but Skrepnik says crews were mopping up by Sunday afternoon and everyone would be allowed back in their homes by the night. Skrepnik says some rain forecast for the southern part of the province may bring some good news around Wednesday, but noted those forecasts can change rapidly.
New wildfires
Meanwhile, several new wildfires have been sparked in the past day, including one that has charred 0.4 square kilometres of bush on the Chataway Creek forest service road, between Merritt and Logan Lake.
The fire is causing heavy smoke that is visible as far away as Kamloops and the wildfire service says it was likely caused by people.
At least six new fires have broken out in the province since this time yesterday, but wildfire service crews say it’s still too early to tell if this year’s fire season will be worse than any other.
Thousands of people were forced from their homes and more than 12,000 square kilometres of trees and grassland were burned last year, in what was BC’s worst-ever wildfire season.
