UPDATE (12:35 p.m. Aug. 14)
The District of 100 Mile said Saturday, Aug. 14 that it has not received any advice to go on alert or order due to the Flat Lake wildfire.
The district said while the wildfire remains active, any change in this status will be reported on the 100 Mile District website or Facebook page. Search and Rescue put up a similar post on its Facebook post, noting it had been contacted by several people asking if the area was on order.
BC Wildfire Service information officer Jessica Mack confirmed there has been no recommendation for evacuation for the area due to the wildfire, last recorded at 62,895 hectares.
Mack noted a shift in wind direction, coupled with low relative humidity and higher temperatures, resulted in increased fire activity Friday and the fire jumping the containment lines in the middle of the northern flank, near Moose Valley. More heavy equipment is being deployed to the site to re-establish the control lines and widen pre-existing roads on the north and east sides of the park, she said.
“We did anticipate this wind shift and it did increase the fire activity,” Mack said Saturday.
Firefighters also continue to work on an excursion that occurred a few days ago. “We do have air tankers heading to that area today to cool hotspots,” Mack said.
More to come.
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BC Wildfire is conducting aerial and hand ignitions on the north edge of the Flat Lake fire perimeter today (Thursday, Aug. 12), resulting in thick plumes of smoke visible from 100 Mile House.
Information officer Jessica Mack said the ignitions, in the area south of Moose Valley Park, between Gustafsen and Holden Lake, are going “very well” with winds coming from the north and pushing the fire back on itself. The ignitions cover an area of about 600 hectares and are aimed at removing unburnt fuels between the fire perimeter and pre-determined control lines, including roads and machine guards.
“The planned ignitions are going really, really well,” Mack said. “People have no need to be concerned at this time. The smoke is very visible but we have aircraft support we well as firefighters (on it).”
Prior to the ignitions, firefighters used hand ignitions to blackline the edge of the containment line prior and aviation support to cool down areas. Four helicopters will also remain on-site throughout the day to support, Mack said.
She noted elevated winds and warmer temperatures increased activity Wednesday on the wildfire, which is now estimated to be 62,895 hectares in size. On Wednesday, firefighters successfully used direct attack methods on the west flank with the use of small-scaled hand ignitions to remove unburnt fuels along newly constructed control lines, which “further re-enforced this tightlined guard.”
READ MORE: Cooler temperatures dampen fire activity
Heavy equipment will continue to build line tighter to the fire perimeter while it remains safe to do so on the northwestern flank Thursday.
“The cooler weather certainly helped us. As we’re getting warming weather we are seeing some activity but everything remains in the control lines,” Mack said.
The fire danger rating remains high to extreme in the Cariboo Fire Centre, where 33 fires continue to burn, including four wildfires of note.
Small-scaled hand ignitions are also planned to occur today on the Young Lake wildfire, estimated at 6,937 hectares, where there is still a pocket of unburned fuels.
Meanwhile, an aerial assessment was completed on the Churn Creek Protected Area fire, estimated to be 6,978 hectares, Wednesday. BCWS said the fire continues to burn in a northwestern direction and is classified as a modified response fire.
There are 12 active wildfires in the 100 Mile zone. Seven of the fires are now Under Control, three are being held, and three are out of control.
More to come.
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