Growth on the Bunting Road wildfire has seen the blaze join with the nearby Tsuius Creek fire.
The fire is mapped at 4,733 hectares as of Tuesday, Aug. 10, after B.C. Wildfire Services reported the two fires merged.
“There has been lower fire behaviour observed on the wildfire and the objectives outlined below will remain the same for the coming days unless conditions change significantly,” BCWS said.
On the west side, crews and heavy equipment have made significant progress securing this side of the fire, nearest to Mabel Lake. A machine guard was constructed to protect structures along Mabel Lake FSR and crews will target hot spots when found.
“Because of this structure protection has been removed from all structures in the vicinity of this fire,” BCWS said.
On the southwest corner of the fire, planning is underway for crews to work directly on the fire perimeter where machines cannot operate in the steep terrain. Machine guard is being constructed where safe to do so. A contingency machine-guard is also in place further south from the fire, from the edge of Mabel Lake heading upslope to the east.
On the north side of the fire, heavy equipment is working to establish machine guards and crews are working directly on the fire perimeter to contain this side. This work has been supported by helicopter bucketing.
There are 23 firefighters and 14 pieces of heavy equipment on site. There are also eight helicopters available for this and the other Shuswap complex fires.
Evacuation orders remain in place for the 6,000 to 17,000 blocks of Mabel Lake FSR. The evacuation alert is also in place for the 3,300 to 6,000 block of the road, which includes the provincial campsite.
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The Bunting Road fire is burning above Mabel Lake and has cabins and properties on the forest service road on evacuation order. (Mabel Lake Resort photo)
