As of Thursday morning, there are seven out-of-control wildfires burning in the Cariboo that are being tackled by the BC Wildfire Service (BCWS).
The most significant is the Pear Lake wildfire of note, which, as of the morning of July 30, is sized at 73,217 hectares. This fire between Highway 97 and Marble Range Park has six evacuation orders and four evacuation alerts associated with it, including evacuation orders for the Village of Clinton and 70 Mile House. There is an incident management team, 174 firefighting personnel, 22 helicopters (which are assigned to the Big Bar Complex), 82 pieces of heavy equipment and 200 structure protection personnel responding to the incident.
Other out-of-control wildfires in the Cariboo, in order of size, include the following, according to the BCWS.
The French Bar Creek fire is 29,197 hectares, with three evacuation orders and five evacuation alerts associated with it. The fire is burning within and west of the Churn Creek Protected Area, west of the Fraser River. An incident management team along with 18 helicopters are assigned to this incident as part of the Big Bar Complex.
The Bonanza Creek wildfire is 17,817 hectares and located to the east of South Chilcotin Mountains Park. It has one evacuation order and two evacuation alerts associated with it. There are 52 firefighting personnel, aviation resources, 14 pieces of heavy equipment and eight structure protection personnel assigned to the incident.
The Lessard Lake fire, sized at 5,143 hectares, has two evacuation alerts associated with it. Structure protection crews have been deployed to the incident, located around the southwest side of Itcha Ilgachuz Park.
The Felker Fire is sized at 3,946 hectares, has one evacuation order and two evacuation alerts associated with it. It is located southeast of Williams Lake, west of Highway 97. There is an incident management team, 189 firefighting personnel, nine helicopters, 25 pieces of heavy equipment and 19 structure protection personnel assigned to the fire.
The Rim Lake fire, close to the Pear Lake fire, is 3,633 hectares. The fire, east of Highway 97 and south of Chasm Park, has one evacuation order associated with it. The fire has an incident management team, firefighting personnel and 18 helicopters assigned to it as part of the Big Bar Complex.
Fire number C10952 is 1,588 hectares and does not have any evacuation orders or alerts associated with it. Firefighting personnel, aviation resources, and heavy equipment are responding to the incident. This fire is located to the south of and partially within Kluskoil Lake Park.
Pear Lake weather and response update
In their July 30 response update, the BCWS notes a weather forecast that is expected to increase fire behaviour on Thursday, explains Wednesday’s operations, speaks about planned ignitions around the Village of Clinton and advises the public of the importance of evacuating when an order is issued.
Regarding Thursday’s weather, it says that a strong inversion will leave smoke settled throughout the morning, reducing visibility for aircraft. The inversion is expected to break around 11 a.m., bringing warmer temperatures at 27 degrees and 18 to 22 per cent relative humidities.
“It is likely that fire behaviour will increase this afternoon once the inversion breaks,” the wildfire service says.
High level cloudiness is also expected to form on Thursday with a cold front expected to arrive over the fire complex on Saturday, Aug. 1. Winds are expected to be predominantly south on Thursday.
“Fuels remain heavily impacted by drought throughout the area and are highly susceptible to increased fire behaviour.”
On Wednesday, there was elevated fire activity and growth along the northwest and northeast flanks. Fire behaviour challenged containment efforts later in the day.
“The fire continued to be active along the north flank of the fire, both in the Long Lake area and the Chasm area and continues to impact the Highway 97 corridor. We are working with BC Hydro for necessary work along the Highway corridor where it is safe to do so,” BCWS says.
Heavy equipment worked to establish contingency lines along the northwest corner of the fire, with work south along the hydro lines conducted as fire behaviour allowed.
“As this fire continues to progress north it will burn into an old burn scar. When fire reaches these areas fire behaviour will decrease.”
Heavy equipment options for containment were being assessed along the northeast corner of the fire.
Structure protection personnel were working to extinguish spot fires in and around structures where the fire had crossed Highway 97 in the Chasm area. Heavy equipment was set to be working off the east side of Highway 97, progressing north to establish containment lines.
“Structure protection personnel continue to prioritize work where there is active fire in and around structures, as well as triage and deployment of structure protection equipment ahead of the fire, where it is safe to do so,” the BCWS says.
“This includes, but is not limited to 70 Mile, Canoe Creek, and the Meadow Lake Road. With the expected fire behaviour today, crews will be prioritizing safety and following the fire front for structure defence.”
Where the fire has crossed Highway 97, east of Clinton, it is moving into an old burn scar, which is helping to decrease fire activity and behaviour.
Along the south flank of the massive blaze, where it is burning around the Village of Clinton, structure protection personnel and firefighting crews are prioritizing structure defence. Crews will keep working on hand and sprinkler lines along the fire perimeter around the village.
Planned ignition around Clinton
On Wednesday, the first phase of a planned ignition operation north of Clinton, along the west side of Highway 97, had been completed. BCWS was looking to complete the remaining sections of the planned ignition on Thursday. However, as of the 10 a.m. update, that operation was on hold, as conditions were not favourable.
“Personnel will assess throughout the day as the inversion lifts,” the wildfire service says.
The BCWS explains that the ignition will support containment efforts to guard property and infrastructure by burning to existing and constructed fire control lines.
“This operation will remove the fuels between the main fire and the identified control lines while bringing the fire to safe and effective working ground for crews and equipment.”
The ignition area covers 2,974 hectares, and will be conduced in smaller subunits using a combination of aerial and hand ignitions. The operation will only go ahead if conditions are favourable for burning, the BCWS says.
The wildfire service explains that ignition plans identify, assess and mitigate potential hazards before beginning.
“Skilled and experienced firefighters utilize fire weather information to support decision making in terms of timing and scale of planned ignitions. This burn operations will be supported with appropriate resources, which includes aircraft, heavy equipment, structure protection resources and firefighters. This is part of the ignition planning and risk mitigation plan.”
The BCWS notes that helicopters continue to drop water to slow the spread of the fire and help operational objectives where necessary. More aviation resources will support as required to meet objectives, it says.
Evacuations and safety
The BCWS offers some comments on safety and evacuation orders in their response update.
The wildfire service says that first responders recently had to facilitate extracting someone from an evacuation order area when fire activity hindered their ability to leave and posed an immediate threat to them.
“Evacuation orders are issued to protect both the community and emergency responders in situations where there’s a significant danger,” it says.
It notes that the orders are not just for the safety of those in the affected zones, but also for the firefighters and other personnel responding to the incident.
“Receiving an Evacuation Order can be an unsettling and emotional experience. Evacuating a home is a difficult and emotional experience, and we understand that people may be reluctant to do so. However, choosing to remain in an area that is under an Evacuation Order puts yourself, your family and first responders in danger. It’s not worth the risk,” it says.
“People who remain in an area that’s under an Evacuation Order may impede the ability of crews, as they may be pulled away from priority work to keep you out of harm’s way.”