The BC Wildfire Service has reclassified three more troublesome fires as “being held,” as cooler conditions help crews make progress on the 236 blazes burning across the province.
The 14,032-hectare Michaud Creek wildfire and the 22,049-hectare Octopus Creek wildfire are burning on opposite sides of Lower Arrow Lake, and are both part of the Arrow Lake complex.
The wildfire service says crews will keep working to extinguish the fires, and that locals in the area should continue to see smoke coming from within their perimeters.
Anyone who sees smoke outside the fire boundaries should report it immediately, they said.
The 2,455-hectare Two Mile Road fire, burning just south of Sicamous, was also classified as being held on Saturday.
The “being held” classification means the fires aren’t expected to expand beyond their current boundaries amid forecast conditions.
On Thursday, two other large fires of concern near Kamloops Lake were also marked as being held.
That same day, wildfire officials said the province’s wildfire situation was “trending in the right direction,” adding they were hopeful more evacuation orders and alerts could be downgraded in the coming days.
Several large fires, however, continue to cause concern — chief among them the White Rock Lake fire burning in the area between Kamloops and Okanagan Lake.
That mammoth fire remains more than 81,000 hectares in size and out of control.
Wildfire officials said Saturday they were seeing “positive progress” on all of the fire’s flanks, and that 60 Canadian Armed Forces members were arriving Sunday to help with the fight.
A large-scale planned burn meant to clear potential fuel away from the fire was again postponed on Saturday, due to rain on Friday.
Amid progress on the fires, another six evacuation orders were lifted — however residents of 3,325 properties remain forced from their homes.
Since the start of the 2021 wildfire service, 1,554 fires have burned more than 864,000 hectares of land.
Comments