You may be noticing increased smoke from the Sitkum Creek Wildfire, but that’s all part of plans to contain it, the BC Wildfire Service says.
Firefighters are conducting “proactive burn out operations,” weather permitting, which may last for several days.
“The wildfire is located in very steep and dangerous terrain and this burn out is necessary to limit the potential growth and direction of the fire,” the Wildfire Service said in a news release. “The objective is to guide the fire toward control lines and contain the fire to the areas between Duhamel Creek and Sitkum Creek.”
Crews have established an equipment guard on the east flank of the fire and built a fuel free control line on the south and west flanks.
Once it’s safe, crews will begin a controlled fire to burn off any remaining unburned fuel between the guard and wildfire, reducing the chance of the fire breaching the control line. During burnout operations, the fire may appear more active.
The BC Wildfire Service is asking your help in accomplishing this goal by staying out of a restricted area around the wildfire.
The fire, which flared up last Saturday, was last estimated at 450 hectares and is about 20 per cent contained along the southern flank. About 350 homes remain on an evacuation alert.
