The Snowy Mountain wildfire put on a spectacular show on Monday night, burning wildly and brightly – so impressively, in fact, that it caused concern from nearby Keremeos, B.C., residents.
The fire crested a nearby mountain, but the B.C. Wildfire Service says area residents need not fret, as the blaze is considered held and is not expected to spread. In fact, the BCWS said the fire is burning inside a pre-established area, and that’s what caused Monday’s flare-up.
“With the smoke clearing a little bit and visibility improving, and temperature increasing and relative humidity decreasing, you’re going to see a little bit more fire behaviour,” B.C. Wildfire Service information officer Nicole Bonnett told Global News on Tuesday. “Especially with visibility improving, it’ll be obviously easier to see at night time, with the contrast of when it’s dark out and the flames burning nice and bright.
Another view of the Snowy Mountain wildfire taken from Keremeos.
“I know it can be a little bit concerning to people, but it’s totally expected, because being held is still considered an active phase of a fire – so there will be fire activity within that pre-established area.”
The Snowy Mountain wildfire has been burning since July 17th and is estimated at 13,359 hectares in size. In its daily update of the fire, the BCWS said “the public will see the fire moving up and down draws within this area and as the fire backs down the draws crews will be responding with suppression efforts. Because the fire activity remains within the identified fire analysis area the status of this fire remains being held. This means we do not expect the fire to spread beyond this determined area.”
The update also stated there are eight firefighters on site and that air support is available, but that “fire equipment is being demobilized in areas where it is no longer required.”
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