Dozens of wildfires continue to burn across the Cariboo-Chilcotin this weekend (July 15-16).
The smoke from all the fires is expected to persist throughout most of the Cariboo Fire Zone this weekend which will continue to impact the temperature, humidity and flying ability of B.C. Wildfire aircraft. However, on Monday showers and thunderstorms are expected to bring up to five to 10 mm of rainfall which should improve visibility across the fire centre.
The majority of the active wildfires continue to burn in the Quesnel Zone with three of them considered Wildfires of Note. Of the 17 active fires five of them are being managed by a special incident management team.
The Townsend Creek Fire has grown to 1,500 hectares and there are currently 68 firefighters and nine support staff assigned to fight it. On Friday, July 14 with the support of heavy equipment crews were able to establish a guard on the south-eastern flank of the fire. A planned ignition reinforced the control lines removing further unburnt fuel from the southern flank.
“Today, heavy equipment and ground crews will continue to establish remaining guard and burn out fuels where required,” the Cariboo Fire Centre said in a release. “Structure protection specialists are supporting wildfires in the area of this fire. Assessments are ongoing and apparatuses will be deployed where it is required.”
The Pelican Lake Fire, meanwhile, has grown to 2,700 hectares with 46 firefighters and heavy equipment deployed to fight it. Crews are currently working to secure the southeastern flanks of the fire with small planned ignitions.
No growth has been reported for the past two days from the Teepee Lake fire which remains at 1,500 hectares. Heavy equipment and 34 firefighters are currently creating containment lines on the eastern flank of the wildfire, while planned ignitions are being prepared on the northeastern flank to secure already established control lines.
There are 79 firefighters assigned to the Branch Road Wildfire, currently at 1,182 hectares in size. The assigned crew continue to work on building a guard around the northwest flank of the fire and establish containment lines.
In the Central Cariboo Zone five fires are out of control, four are being held and four are under control. At this time five of these wildfires C30442, C30399, C30446, C30572, and C31442 are in the wet belt and are listed as monitor only.
In the Chilcotin Zone there are currently five active fires with firefighters currently focused on C51571 near Anahim Peak and C51562 north of Satah Mountain. Near Anahim Peak crews successfully burnt pockets of unburnt fuel to further secure containment lines and will focus on extending the guard today to the Dean River. At C51562 crews plan to create control lines on the western flank of the fire and, if conditions are suitable, hand ignite unburnt fuel.
There are no active wildfires in the 100 Mile House Zone. All evacuation alerts and orders remain in effect.
patrick.davies@100milefreepress.net
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