The Cariboo Chilcotin is now home to the province’s largest and third largest wildfires ever recorded in B.C.’s history.
Last Saturday evening the Cariboo Fire Centre made the decision to rename the Chezacut, Tautri, Bishop’s Bluff, Baezaeko, Wentworth Creek, Arc Mountain and some others fires as The Plateau Fire because they had joined.
The Plateau Fire is located 60 kilometres northwest of Williams Lake.
By Tuesday it was an estimated 467,462 hectares in size.
The Hanceville-Riske Creek fire, which has claimed several homes, is an estimated 227,051 hectares.
Puntzi fire camp information officer Heather Rice updates data for the BC Wildfire Service for the Plateau Fire South and said Tuesday work on the south end of the fire has been going well.
“We’ve been getting a lot of rain so that’s been helping us do more direct attack on the fire’s front,” Rice said. “We have been putting in guards quite close to where the fire is burning which we have not been able to do in the past.”
The down side of the rain is that it inhibits the ability to do controlled burns, however, the moisture does slow the fire activity, she added.
Fire information officer Ellie Dupont, who provides updates on the Plateau Fire North, said Tuesday’s efforts to fight the fire were also being helped by reduced temperatures and higher humidity.
“We’ve been adding many many kilometres of line guards around the areas that are the highest priority for us,” Dupont said.
“We are concentrating around protecting communities like Kluskus, Nazko and Titetown.”