Crews are making progress on the construction of a contingency guard to the south of the Young Creek Fire in Tweedsmuir Park.
The contingency guard is to prevent the fire from moving south into steeper terrain.
In its update Tuesday, July 18, tge Coastal Fire Centre said the fire has exhibited minimal growth since Monday and is continuing to display lower levels of activity so far due to an inversion creating cloudy and smoky conditions with low wind.
By Wednesday it is anticipated the guard will likely be completed and the next priority will be the planning and construction of guards to the east of the fire.
Crews will continue danger tree assessment and falling as necessary for the safety of Highway 20 users.
There are 30 firefighters, six pieces of heavy equipment and three helicopters actioning the fire Tuesday, July 18.
Pilot car detours continue between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. for traffic using the Bella Coola Hill in alternating directions every hour.
Otherwise, Highway 20 remains closed overnight and may close without warning.
Since July 7, several wildfires have been discovered in the Bella Coola area.
As of July 18, the Coastal Fire Centre also lists the following fires for the area:
Oppy Lake Fire at 2,272 hectares, Dean River, 313 ha, Crag Creek, 85 ha, Mesachie Nose, 0.5 ha, Mosher Creek, 0.52 ha, Bear Camp, 1.81 ha, Elbow Lake, 414 ha, Trumpeter, 1.5 km northeast of Lonesome Lake, 1,537 ha and Melikan Mountain, 25 ha.
All categories of fires are banned within the Coastal Fire Centre, except for Haida Gwaii, until further notice, including campfires.
British Columbia’s wildfire season is now the worst on record for the province in terms of the amount of land burned.
As of late afternoon on July 17, the province had seen a total of 1,159 wildfires, destroying more than 1.39 million hectares. The figures come from the BC Wildfire Service.
The majority of the damage this year has been in the Prince George Fire Centre’s area.
An evacuation order issued Friday, July 14 for the Dean River fire area remains in place.
READ MORE: EVACUATION ORDER: Dean River wildfire area July 14
monica.lamb-yorski@wltribune.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
