Daily Archives: August 9, 2018

The Nanaimo Lakes wildfire is still growing, but firefighters are getting a better handle on that growth. The fire southwest of the city grew to 179 hectares as of Wednesday evening, but it’s now considered 25 per cent contained, according to B.C. Wildfire Services. Donna MacPherson, with the Coastal Fire Centre, said the fire “held really well” on three sides during Wednesday’s firefighting. …“They’ve been focusing on the sides that could impact people the most … They’ve basically been able to get around on the west and the south and the east sides and now they’re trying to work toward the north. That’s the hard part because of the terrain.” …MacPherson said the message the fire centre really wants to get out is for members of the public to “smarten up,” as the Nanaimo fire and two fires that broke out in the Alberni Valley are all suspected to have been human-caused.

It was late to start, but what British Columbia’s wildfire season has lacked in length it’s more than made up for in intensity. As of Wednesday, there were 460 wildfires burning across B.C., 25 of them large “fires of note,” according to the B.C. Wildfire Service; that’s more active fires than any single day of 2017’s record fire season. “All the way from the U.S. border right up to almost the border of the Panhandle with Alaska, we’ve got fires of note,” said B.C. Forests Minister Doug Donaldson. There have been 1,502 fires since April 1 that have burned about 101,000 hectares of land at a cost of $131 million. About 2,700 people are engaged in firefighting efforts across B.C., including more than 100 out-of-province wildfire personnel. More are expected in the coming days, including personnel from Quebec, where the fire situation has improved.

A cooling trend is forecast for B.C., but provincial firefighting officials say the change in the weather is likely to be accompanied by intense lightning capable of igniting more forest fires. Kevin Skrepnek, B.C.’s chief fire information officer, said Wednesday the heat should let up across the province by Friday, but with that comes forecasts of thunderstorms, lightning strikes and only small amounts of rain. He said the amount of rain in the most recent forecast is between three and five millimetres, which is not enough to ease the extreme fire conditions across B.C. “The real day we are focusing on right now is Friday,” he said from Kamloops. “We do expect a pretty dramatic shift in the weather.” …”Unfortunately, the cold front that is going to bring about increased winds and… some thunderstorm activity with it,” he said. “We are bracing for it to be a challenging day.”

PRINCE GEORGE – The Chutanli Lake fire southwest of Prince George exploded Tuesday to 1,500 hectares. On Wednesday, it grew to 1,800 hectares. Crews and equipment were forced to retreat as the fire jumped the Kluskus Forest Service Road.  Wildfire BC officials say it’s being fueled by strong winds and hot, dry conditions.  The Cariboo Regional District has issued an expanded evacuation alert around the blaze.  …It is the same story for the Shovel Lake fire northwest of Fraser Lake.  It burst through containment lines …growing from 5,400 hectares to more than 6,800  hectares. …Nearly 140 firefighters and support staff are battling the flames along with 14 helicopters and 51 pieces of heavy equipment. Meantime the Chief of the Tahltan First Nation says a wildfire has destroyed 27 structures in the Telegraph Creek area.  Chief Rick McLean estimates the fire has ripped through 30 to 45 percent of buildings in the remote community southwest of Dease Lake.