Eleven new wildfires were discovered in the Cariboo Fire Centre on Aug. 6. Eight new fires were discovered in the 100 Mile Fire Zone, the largest located east of the Gustafsen Lake forest service road estimated at 1.1 hectares in size. One 0.3 hectare fire was identified in the Horsefly area, one spot fire in the Chilcotin zone and one new fire in the Quesnel fire zone.
There are a total of 79 active wildfires in the Cariboo Fire Centre, 34 fires are in Out of Control status, 17 are in Being Held status, and 28 wildfires are in Under Control Status. A total of nine wildfires were called out yesterday.
Due to weather conditions, heavy smoke is visible throughout the Cariboo Fire Centre. The majority of this smoke is drifting in from fires elsewhere in the province.
Horsefly
There are 20 active fires in the Horsefly area. One new fire was discovered yesterday afternoon, near Bells Lake and is estimated at 0.3 hectares. All fires have been assessed and actioned in priority sequence.
Four fires are on the east arm of Quesnel Lake, with the largest being 0.6 hectares (C31697). Two are still considered to be Out of Control, one is Under Control and one is Being Held.
Two fires are on the north side of Quesnel Lake. One spot fire is in Out of Control status and the other is Under Control and is approximately 20.6 hectares in size.
Four fires are located on the south side of Quesnel Lake and the largest is the Quartz Mountain fire estimated at 92 hectares.
The Heningram FSR fire is estimated at 12 hectares and was completed wrapped by heavy equipment. Ground crews are on site. The other wildfires are being monitored closely, due to steep terrain and high elevations are difficult for ground crews to action.
The largest fire is the Horsefly Lake fire, mapped at 526 hectares, which is now 100 per cent contained. On Aug. 6, crews took advantage of optimal burning conditions, where they were able to successfully burn out fuels on the east flank. This was done to remove unburned fuels and further reinforce that flank of the fire. Today, Aug. 7, ground crews will focus on mopping up the fire. There are 26 firefighters, 10 pieces of heavy equipment, three helicopters and one fire officer on site.
100 Mile
There are currently 28 active wildfires in the 100 Mile fire zone and two fires were called out yesterday. There are no structures or communities threatened at this time, but multiple wildfires are highly visible from communities and highways.
All of the wildfires have been assessed and are being actioned in priority sequence. Ground crews, aircraft and heavy equipment are responding and have been making positive progress with air tankers and strike teams.
On Aug. 6, BC Wildfire Service discovered eight new fires. The largest is located east of the Gustafsen Lake Forest Service Road and northwest of Flat Lake Park and is estimated at 1.1 hectares in size. Air tankers have completed action and will be requested back if necessary and there are 14 firefighters on site. There are four other fires in this general vicinity including two spot fires, one fire is estimated at 0.3-hectare and one at 0.6 hectares.
There are five fires located near Lang Lake, the largest of these wildfires is estimated to be 10 hectares and is in Being Held status. The remaining four fires are all spot fires.
There is one fire located near Sodium Lake that is still an estimated 24 hectares in size. It is now considered to be Under Control.
There are two wildfires north of the Marble Range Park. The largest being the Wild Goose Lake fire, estimated at 20 hectares in size and considered to be in Being Held status. The other fire in this area is in Under Control status and is an estimated 0.8 hectares in size.
Quesnel
The BC Wildfire service has identified 19 active wildfires in the Quesnel fire zone; one spot fire was discovered yesterday near Nazko Road and one near the Itcha Ilgachuz Park was called out. There are no structures or communities threatened at this time.
All of the wildfires have been assessed and being actioned in priority sequence. Ground crews, aircraft and heavy equipment are responding.
There are three fires located north of Bellos Lake and west of Norton Creek Road, the largest of these is 0.3 hectares. Two of the fires are now considered to be in Under Control status.
There are three active fires in the area north of Highway 26, east of the community of Quesnel and west of Bowron Lake Park. The largest is C11853 and is estimated at 20 hectares in size. This fire is now considered to be Under Control
Keithley Creek Mountain area has two wildfires. The largest is the Cottonwood fire, estimated at 60 hectares.
Three wildfires are north of the Itcha Ilgachuz Park. The Shag Creek wildfire is now being handled by the Chilcotin Fire Zone, for more information on this fire refer to the Chilcotin section of this update. The other two fires in this area are both considered in Being Held status.
Lastly, there are five fires south of Kluskoil Lake Park and northwest of Nazko, the largest is 4 hectares and is Under Control.
Williams Lake
The Williams Lake area in the Central fire zone has eight active wildfires all of which are Under Control. There are no structures or communities threatened at this time.
All of the wildfires have been assessed and being actioned in priority sequence. Ground crews, aircraft and heavy equipment are responding.
Two fires are located near the Junction Sheep Range Park; the largest is estimated at 199 hectares. This fire is located inside the park boundaries and is Under Control. One fire was called out yesterday in this area.
A fire was discovered on Aug. 7 and is estimated to be 0.50 hectares. It is located north of White Pelican Park.
Chilcotin
The BC Wildfire Service had a successful day in the Chilcotin fire zone on Aug. 6. Five fires were called out and there are only four active wildfires. One fire was discovered late yesterday afternoon approximately 10 kilometres west of Alexis Creek and two and a half kilometres south of Bull Canyon. It is estimated to be two hectares and is currently burning in grass. This fire is likely visible from Highway 20.
The Chantslar Lake fire is 120 hectares and is 100 per cent guarded. The perimeter of the fire saw increased activity on Aug. 6 but crews were successful in using equipment and air support to drop water on hot spots.
There is a 55-hectare fire near Itcha Ilgachuz park. Smoke was visible on Aug. 6 on the southern flank of the fire that was actioned with air support and there are seven firefighters on site.
The 4.3-hectare fire near Bull Canyon is Under Control and crews are patrolling the fire.
The Chilcotin fire zone is also responding to the Shag Creek fire that is located within the Quesnel Fire Zone. There is increased fire activity due to strong wind conditions and it is estimated at 45 hectares. Due to safety concerns we have pulled resources off of this fire, the BC Wildfire Service will continue to monitor and assess the situation. There are no communities or structures threatened at this time.
Due to current weather conditions, three fires burning within identified natural boundaries in Coastal Fire Centre areas of Tweedsmuir Provincial Park are producing smoke that is visible from Highway 20 and surrounding areas, including parts of the Chilcotin. For more information on the current wildfire situation, visit www.bcwildfire.ca
Weather Outlook
We are anticipating increasingly hot and dry weather throughout the Cariboo Fire Centre through to Thursday, Aug. 9. Temperatures will be in the upper 20s and low 30s with relative humidity trending downward. Winds today will be between 15 to 25 kilometres per hour with gusts up to 35 kilometres per hour in the Chilcotin. We are expecting lighter winds than yesterday for the remainder of this week. A cooler weather pattern with thunderstorms, wind and light precipitation is anticipated to move into the Cariboo Fire Centre late in the day on Friday, Aug. 10, and moving through the weekend.
