White Rock Lake Fire (File photo: BCWS)

By Pete McIntyre

Update

New size estimate for fire west of Vernon

Jul 30, 2021 | 11:31 AM

There is a new size estimate for the White Rock Lake Fire burning west of Vernon.

The BC Wildfire Service puts the fire at 20,891 hectares as of Friday morning after several days of not being able to update the size due smoky conditions.

The service says 117 firefighters — including 100 personnel from Quebec — are working on the fire lines, with eight helicopters, eight danger tree assessors/fallers and 39 pieces of heavy equipment.

BCWS expects “elevated fire behaviour” to continue today and fire growth is expected to the east and northeast on the blaze first discovered July 13 northeast of Merritt.

Crews will be patrolling the machine guard that was built next to the powerline on the northwest flank and working on dousing any spots that may have crossed the guard.

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“Progress is being made on constructing a machine guard to connect into the Monte-Pratt Road. Crews will support the construction of this guard with hose lay and a water tender,” the BCWS stated on its website.

Crews will continue to work eastward on the southwest flank to secure the perimeter and construct machine guard. Mop up around the Cress Creek area on the south flank of the fire will be ongoing over the weekend.

If conditions remain favourable over the coming days, additional planned ignitions will occur along the southeast flank to fully bring the fire down to the Salmon River Forest Service Road.

Planned ignitions along this flank are being carried out using Plastic Sphere Dispensers (PSD). PSDs accurately deploy golf-ball sized plastic spheres onto the landscape. Through a chemical reaction, the spheres ignite shortly after they reach the forest floor. This technique allows personnel to ignite manageable amounts of fuel in a timely and accurate manner. Air support will continue to be utilized for the duration of planned ignition operations, as required,” the Wildfire Service explained.

Structural protection personnel continue to assess and prioritize critical infrastructure and properties, working from Monte Lake towards the Falkland corridor via Highway 97.

Just over 100 properties are under evacuation orders issued by three regional districts (RDNO,TNRD, CSRD), with hundreds more properties in those districts and the Okanagan Indian Band under evacuation alerts.