Number of active wildfires in B.C. drops, evacuation order lifted

Jul 24, 2021 | 12:00 PM

The BC Wildfire Service says there are 261 wildfires currently burning in the province with 96 fires in the Kamloops Fire Centre (as of 12:00 p.m. July 24).

That’s down from 275 fires reported in its last update Friday, and down from about 300 earlier in the week.

There are 57 evacuation orders in place, down one from Friday afternoon, affecting nearly 5,000 properties, and some residents of Lytton have been allowed to return to their devastated village.

Another nearly 16,500 properties, more than 1,000 fewer than the previous day, were on evacuation alert, meaning residents have been told to be ready to leave on short notice.

There are 3,320 firefighters and other personnel working to fight the blazes, including 94 from out of province.

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Fires of note in the North Okanagan-Shuswap are still classified as out of control.

The Two Mile Road fire south of Sicamous which is still listed at 1,000 hectares.

“Growth was observed in a direction away from Sicamous and crews are making good progress holding the guard with assistance from industry,” stated the BCWS website on Saturday.

The Bunting Road fire northeast of Lumby, is still listed at 3,000 hectares and the BCWS had not posted an update on the fire as of 12:00 p.m. Saturday. 66 properties on Mabel Lake Forest Service Road, east of Mabel Lake, are still on evacuation order.

The White Rock Lake fire, which is impacting some properties in Westwold between Vernon and Kamloops, is estimated at 8,702 hectares.

“BC Wildfire Service personnel and aerial resources continue to work with industry partners on site for this incident,” the website said.

The Hunakwa Lake fire, southeast of Seymour Arm at the north end of Shuswap Lake, is 1,100 hectares.

“There was growth on the fire overnight to the north along the ridge, away from communities,” the Wildfire Service website informed.

The Nk’Mip Creek fire between Oliver and Osoyoos is at 6,800 hectares.

The #BCWildfire Service continues to respond to the Nk’Mip Creek wildfire (#K52061) north of #Osoyoos. High temperatures and wind speeds have resulted in heightened wildfire activity and increased smoke. pic.twitter.com/hCDi7Z1VRs

— BC Wildfire Service (@BCGovFireInfo) July 23, 2021

The BCWS provided the following update on that fire:

Crews worked through the night to protect structures in/near Shrike subdivision. A 20-person unit crew arrived last night and their first day on the fire line is today.

Today, crews are continuing suppression action and structure protection work on the north and south edges of the fire. Division A is patrolling and monitoring the north edge and west flank, looking for hot spots. They will be looking for burn off operation opportunities to reinforce existing guards and protect structures. Division Z is continuing containment and structure protection on the south.

Heavy equipment will work on constructing a machine guard to the east and near Shrike. The terrain is steep and rocky in some areas which can limit the use of equipment. Construction of machine guard on the south flank is ongoing (BCWS on Nk’Mip Creek fire north of Osoyoos).

On Saturday, the Osoyoos Indian Band downgraded part of an evacuation order to an evacuation alert for several properties related to the Nk’Mip Creek wildfire.

(With files from The Canadian Press)

by Pete McIntyre

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