Day 8 of the wildfires around Williams Lake and many local operators and firefighters continue to be the boots on the ground helping protect communities.
On Friday morning they gathered at 7 a.m. at the foot of Fox Mountain for a daily information meeting before heading out for the day.
Fox Mountain resident Glen Ford has been on the fires since they started a week ago and is evacuated from his home.
He said he and his wife are staying at his shop in town.
“I’m on standby today and set up by the fire line up by my father’s shop until they call us in to do whatever they need us to do,” Ford said.
Pioneer Logging Company’s David Chevigny said the crews muster at different areas.
“We are kind of in the centre of the 150 Mile fire now which is why we are meeting here,” he said of the Fox Mountain Road location. “We will be going into three different areas, we are trying to finish a fire guard.”
Chevigny said Pioneer Log Homes of B.C. had loss at its compound on the Likely/Horsefly Road.
“Inventory burnt, houses burnt a crane burnt. That happened on Friday night the first day.”
Time has gone by fast and everyone’s been going hard, he added.
“Everyone’s been amazing.”
Drew Wide, a local Cariboo Fire Centre firefighter said while it’s awesome they are getting praise from the public, the pilots and machine operators don’t get enough credit.
Meanwhile, the large camp at the Cariboo Fire Centre has grown to accommodate fire crews and on Friday morning is sitting in heavy smog as smoke continues to be present in the area.
Meet David Chevigny of Pioneer Logging, heavy equipment operator Glen Ford and some young local Cariboo Fire Centre firefighters.