The Brunswick Complex wildfire, made up of the Ainslie Creek and Brunswick Creek fires, burns at a combined 20,153 hectares as of July 17.
The BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) provided updates about the wildfires on Friday morning. Both remain out of control.
There is one evacuation alert in place for the Ainslie Creek fire, along with one evacuation alert and nine evacuation orders for the Brunswick Creek fire. Details of evacuation alerts and orders can be found at Emergency Info BC’s website.
The response to the complex wildfire includes an incident management team, 287 firefighters, 20 helicopters, 41 pieces of heavy equipment and 87 structure protection personnel.
“Our priorities are to maintain the safety of responders and the public, and to protect communities, critical infrastructure, Highway 1, and cultural values. We are maintaining 24-hour operations on the complex, including ground crews, structure protection personnel and night-vision equipped helicopters,” the BCWS says in their response update.
DriveBC notes that Highway 1 is open to traffic but there is no stopping in the wildfire zone for a stretch of 26.9 km between Tuckkwiowhum Road and Jackass Summit.
BCWS provides many details about the fire in their Friday update.
The wildfire service says they have seen several days of elevated fire behaviour and activity on both the Brunswick Creek and Ainslie Creek wildfires, following a ridge of high pressure and a ridge breakdown on Thursday, July 16.
Friday is forecasted to be somewhat cooler and more humid than Thursday, they say. Winds will remain strong and from the south to south-west, with gusts up to 35 km per hour in the afternoon.
“With improved temperature and humidity, we can expect lower fire behaviour through most of the day, mainly Rank 2 and 3 (moderately to highly vigorous surface fire). The mid-late afternoon may still see elevated fire behaviour, particularly on south and west facing slopes where slope and wind align.”
The wildfire service says the risk of spotting will be reduced on Friday, but active patrolling will continue for any spot fires and hot spots.
On Thursday afternoon, the BCWS saw instability with a stormfront bringing strong, erratic winds and patchy showers. They say fire behaviour was aggressive in areas but neither fire displayed major growth towards values. During that time their tactics and objectives changed to ensure the safety of their crews and all personnel working on the fires within the complex.
“While conditions today and tomorrow should be more moderate, a warming and drying trend will re-establish Sunday into Monday.”
A full breakdown of all the BCWS’ operations to combat the blaze can be found at their website.
Regarding public safety, the BCWS begins by noting Highway 1 has re-opened to traffic, there are speed reductions in place (60 km/hr) and no stopping through the wildfire zone.
“The situation is dynamic in this area and wildfires are still actively burning along the highway corridor; we urge drivers to check DriveBC before leaving.”
They point to Emergency Info BC for updates on current evacuation alerts and orders, and say that, for questions, people should contact their local authority or First Nation.
BC Hydro reports that 34 customers are affected in the Boston Bar area due to the fire.
BCWS notes that Environment Canada has an air quality warning in effect for the Fraser Canyon from Lytton to Dogwood Valley, as well as the South Thompson and Nicola regions.
Links to information about forest service road, recreation site and park closures and advisories can be found in the BCWS response update.
The Brunswick Complex wildfire is suspected to be human caused.
The Coastal Fire Centre can be reached at 236-425-9415 or BCWS.Brunswick.Info@gov.bc.ca.