A wildfire threatening the small, unincorporated community of Westwold, B.C., northeast of Merritt, has flared up and grown substantially as out-of-province firefighters are deployed to assist in fire suppression efforts.
The White Rock Lake wildfire, discovered on July 13, is now mapped at 12,500 hectares in size, up from 9,400 hectares on Sunday.
Fire officials said the increased fire activity is linked to elevated temperatures and increased southwest winds.
“This aggressive fire behaviour caused growth to the northwest in the Sawmill Lake and Jimmy Lake areas, and produced a large column of smoke,” the BC Wildfire Service said in its Monday update, posted online.
“This elevated behaviour is occurring again this morning in the same areas. Extensive smoke and more growth is occurring.”
Residents in the Westwold area should expect continued heightened fire activity in the coming days, due to hot dry and windy conditions. No precipitation is in the immediate forecast.
The BC Wildfire Service has requested more structural protection units near the fire line to save homes.
A task force of fire engines will be patrolling and actioning hot spots in an effort to protect properties and “high-value assets,” the fire service said.
Airtankers may be used to apply fire retardant to the blaze, if conditions allow. Six helicopters will be bucketing the fire on Monday.
A fire camp has been established at the Salmon River Resort. One hundred firefighters and 12 support staff from Quebec arrived at the Okanagan Complex on Sunday.
Firefighters will be living at the camp and are assigned to the White Rock Lake wildfire.
Multiple power outages in the area are being blamed on heavy smoke impacting power lines, the fire service said.
The fire is being managed by a BC Wildfire Service Incident Management Team as part of the Okanagan Complex.
Two evacuation orders and an evacuation alert issued by the Thompson-Nicola Regional District on July 19 and 20 remain in effect.
As of Monday, there are currently 259 fires burning, with 11 of those sparked in the last two days.
The B.C. Wildfire Service said there are 39 wildfires of note, which means they are either threatening communities or highly visible.
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