It has been a busy stretch for the BC Wildfire Service as of late.
With an update on the current wildfires of note within the district, here’s fire information officer, Erin Catherall.
Shovel Lake: “This blaze is currently estimated at 6,150 hectares in size. Today (August 7th), we have 90 firefighters, 37 support personnel, 51 pieces of heavy equipment, and 14 helicopters available to aid this fire and will be used as necessary. This fire has expanded nearly 750 hectares in size over the last 24 hours and has been aggressive in nature. The primary growth was seen in the Northeast region. Crews will continue to establish containment lines today.”
Nadine Lake: “Currently this fire is estimated at 5,640 hectares in size. Due to the aggressive nature of this fire, crews were pulled off the line yesterday for safety concerns. Burn out operations were conducted two days ago along Nadina Lake, to reduce further spot fires and I’d say those went well. Today, crews are working to work to secure lines of containment for structures within the area. This fire is moving in an Eastern direction.”
Verdun Mountain: “Is estimated at 100 hectares in size. As of this morning, the fire was extremely aggressive with rank 3 fire behavior. We have helicopters out there supporting ground crews with bucketing water.”
Island Lake:Â “This fire is estimated at 7,000 hectares in size. The blaze took a 15 km run to the East as of late yesterday and is now burning in the Francois Lake Provincial Park. Due to the intensity of this fire, we did have to pull crews off the line yesterday. Life and property remain the top priority for this fire. We have placed an air tanker request to assist in these efforts as of this morning.”
As for the Torkelsen Lake Wildfire, there was no immediate update available, only what was provided online. This is what we know at this point.
Torkelsen Lake: Estimated at roughly 80 hectares in size. The fire is listed at 0% contained and is moving in an Eastern direction. There are currently 18 firefighters, 3 helicopters, 8 pieces of heavy machinery, and air tankers assisting in these efforts.
Catherall expects the weather conditions to be fairly similar to what we saw on the weekend.
“Today we’re probably going to continue to see a lot of smoke in the area. We’re expecting mostly sunny conditions with winds gusting anywhere from 10-30 km’s/hr. Those winds would be coming from the South to Southwest. With that, we’re most likely going to see increased fire activity in the region.”
At this time, Catherall says it’s crucial that people stay up to date with the most current information.
If you are looking for any updates regarding the current wildfire activity, click here.
For additional information from the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako regarding such things as Evacuation Alerts and Orders, click here.