The Brunswick Complex wildfires near Boston Bar remain active but aren’t growing at a significant rate, according to the latest update from BC Wildfire Service.
The update noted that south-westerly winds are limiting the spread of the fires to the south.
However, both the Ainslie Creek and Brunswick Creek fires are still listed as out of control and wildfires of note by BCWS. The Brunswick Creek fire is 7,397 hectares in size, while the Ainslie Creek fire was updated to 30,085.9 hectares in size to reflect the merger with the Anderson Creek fire last week.
The Anderson Creek wildfire was removed from the BCWS map and is now considered part of the Ainslie Creek fire.
“When you see the size of a wildfire reported, that number reflects the entire perimeter but it doesn’t necessarily mean the entire area is actively burning,” BCWS said. “While some areas may be more active or displaying increased fire behaviour, others may be cooling down or already burned out.”
BCWS said a warming and drying trend reestablished on Wednesday (July 29) is expected to strengthen through Friday (July 31).
“With the trend comes more stable atmospheric conditions and clear skies, which could allow smoke to settle and slightly reduce fire activity; however, given the overall hot and dry conditions, we still expect fire behaviour to increase this week,” BCWS said.
Cooler temperatures and higher humidity moderated fire behaviour across the complex over the past several days but has not been enough to offset prolonged dry conditions. BCWS said “significant rain would be required to meaningfully reduce risk”.
According to the update, the Ainslie Creek blaze featured minimal fire activity in the Fraser Canyon and no significant growth in the northeast section since last Friday (July 24).
Crews achieved 100 feet of extinguishment into the fire’s edge in Boston Bar and 30-50 feet around Canyon Alpine and to the north.
“Crews will continue to work towards 100 feet extinguishment in areas near values,” BCWS said.
At the Brunswick Creek wildfire, fire activity is minimal on the north end of the blaze and crews are working off completed infrared scanning to extinguish hotspots near values.
“To ensure containment lines hold and the fire no longer poses a threat, crews must extinguish every hotspot along the perimeter. If they are not fully out, hotspots can reignite when hotter, drier conditions return, so operational objectives often stay consistent for days as crews work to cool these edges completely before moving on,” BCWS said.
Highway 1 remains closed between Spuzzum Creek Road and Jackass Summit.