The Hanceville-Riske Creek wildfire continues to grow and is now an estimated 212,000 hectares, fire information officer Marg Drysdale said from the Riske Creek camp Monday.
“With Sunday’s wind made a 16-kilometre excursion on the northwest corner,” Drysdale told the Tribune. “There is a finger of the fire that’s on the north end of Riske Creek and the fire took a 19 km-run on that area.”
While one to four millimetres of rain fell in the area, the fire got none, she confirmed.
On Monday there are 296 firefighters, 64 pieces of heavy equipment, 14 helicopters, an incident management team and support staff tackling the fire.
An assessment was done late Sunday and today crews are following up doing mop-up, dealing with hot spots, planning and moving equipment to build more guards and solid lines.
“Today we have fairly light winds and the temperature is cooler so things are milder. It’s clear and sunny in parts and smokey in other areas,” Drysdale said.
On Monday 100 military personnel arrived in Riske Creek and many of them are training to help with firefighting efforts.
“They have had some briefing and will hopefully be on the line Tuesday,” Drysdale said.
Highway 20 remains closed between Riske Creek and Alexis Creek due to the evacuation order although eastbound traffic is open for people leaving the area.
A power outage impacting 23 customers southeast of Old Farwell Canyon Road was restored Sunday afternoon.