A wildfire that’s burning near the North Okanagan community of Armstrong continues to grow in size, but not at the pace it did earlier in the week.
As of Thursday, the Hullcar Mountain blaze is currently estimated at 700 hectares. That’s up from 670 hectares on Wednesday and 330 hectares on Tuesday morning.
“The change is attributable to growth we saw late yesterday and more accurate (size) tracking,” BC Wildfire information officer Taylor Wallace told Global News.
Wallace says the fire’s size could change again, pending afternoon heat activity.
Currently, 81 firefighters are battling the blaze, which is around 10 kilometres northwest of Armstrong, along with aerial support via five helicopters.
BC Wildfire says seasonal temperatures are helping, as they’re “a little bit cooler than we have seen previously.”
Environment Canada is forecasting a mix of sun and clouds until Saturday for the area, along with daily highs of 30 to 32 C.
Though far from the biggest wildfire in the region (see below), the blaze has spawned four evacuation alerts and three evacuation orders.
The orders, issued by the Columbia Shuswap Regional District, the Township of Spallumcheen and the Splatsin First Nation, were all sent out on Tuesday, two days after the fire was discovered on Sunday.
An evacuation centre has been set up in Armstrong. Officials say 27 households had registered as of Thursday morning.
“I think people are scared. They’re worried about their homes; they’re worried about when they can go back,” said Spallumcheen’s mayor, Christine Fraser.
“So we’re trying to provide as much support as we can to the residents, making sure that it’s safe for them to go back to their homes — and hopefully over the weekend if things continue the way they are and we get good news from BC Wildfire.”
Below is a look at some of the wildfires in the Southern Interior.
Calcite Creek wildfire
- Size: 6,297 hectares
- Rating: Out of control
- Location: 40 km south of Princeton; eight km north of U.S. border
- Evacuation alert: Yes
- Evacuation order: Yes
- Suspected cause: Lightning
BC Wildfire says crews are establishing containment lines in the southwest. All told, 36 firefighters are battling the blaze, along with eight aircraft, 10 pieces of heavy equipment and 16 structure protection personnel.
Lower Blue Mountain wildfire
- Size: 46 hectares
- Rating: Under control
- Location: Outskirts of Penticton
- Evacuation alert: Yes
- Evacuation order: No
- Suspected cause: Under investigation
BC Wildfire says two attack crews and one unit crew are at the scene.
Lower Campbell Creek wildfire
- Size: 233 hectares
- Rating: Being held
- Location: 25 km east of Penticton
- Evacuation alert: No
- Evacuation order: No
- Suspected cause: Lightning
BC Wildfire says crews are continuing to work on mopping up and patrolling the entire perimeter of the fire.
Sitkum Creek wildfire
- Size: 1,261 hectares
- Rating: Out of control
- Location: 57 km east of Vernon; also next to Sugar Lake
- Evacuation alert: Yes
- Evacuation order: No
- Suspected cause: Lightning
BC Wildfire says crews are continuing to work on implementing a 50-foot black line as well as conducting danger tree assessing and falling along the west flank. In all, 27 personnel are on site.
Hullcar Mountain wildfire
- Size: 700 hectares
- Rating: Out of control
- Location: 10 km northwest of Armstrong
- Evacuation alert: Yes
- Evacuation order: Yes
- Suspected cause: Lightning
BC Wildfire says heavy equipment will be working on a machine guard along the east and north flanks. Overall, 10 attack crews are battling the blaze plus five helicopters.
Mara Mountain wildfire
- Size: 281 hectares
- Rating: Out of control
- Location: Seven km southeast of Sicamous
- Evacuation alert: No
- Evacuation order: No
- Suspected cause: Lightning
BC Wildfire says crews reported minimal overnight growth and that two crewmembers were onsite for Saturday.
Dry Creek wildfire
- Size: 468 hectares
- Rating: Out of control
- Location: 44 km south of Revelstoke; close to Shelter Bay
- Evacuation alert: Yes
- Evacuation order: No
- Suspected cause: Lightning
BC Wildfire says crews are continuing to mop up and patrol the northern flank and upslope on the western flank.
Nemo Creek wildfire
- Size: 5,790 hectares
- Rating: Out of control
- Location: Across Slocan Lake from New Denver
- Evacuation alert: No
- Evacuation order: No
- Suspected cause: Lightning
BC Wildfire says crews are mopping up falling danger trees around cabins on the west side of Slocan Lake, adjacent to the fire. Overall, 114 firefighters and seven helicopters have been assigned to the Slocan Lake complex.
Komonko Creek wildfire
- Size: 3,989 hectares
- Rating: Out of control
- Location: 10 km south of New Denver
- Evacuation alert: No
- Evacuation order: Yes
- Suspected cause: Lightning
BC Wildfire says fire behaviour continues to be low since rainfall on Monday night. There are 74 firefighters and seven tree fallers at the scene.
Argenta Creek wildfire
- Size: 18,390 hectares
- Rating: Out of control
- Location: 80 km north of Nelson
- Evacuation alert: Yes
- Evacuation order: Yes
- Suspected cause: Lightning
BC Wildfire says recent precipitation has decreased fire behaviour in many sections, but some areas are still challenging for crews to directly attack. Overall, 95 firefighters and five helicopters are at the scene.