There are currently thousands of firefighters working to contain hundreds of wildfires burning across the province, and doing their part, right alongside them, are some Langley Mounties.
The Flat Lake wildfire first discovered on July 8 remains active as of Wednesday, according to BC Wildfire Service, which categorized that 53,000 hectare blaze as a wildfire of note.
READ MORE: West Kootenay man spends 24 hours fighting wildfire with plastic bag
The “out of control” blaze, suspected to be caused by lighting, is burning 27 kilometres southwest of 100 Mile House, west of Flat Lake – as a result, the District of 100 Mile House was put on evacuation alert July 14.
Since then, members of the Langley RCMP detachment have been patrolling parts of 100 Mile House in search of new fires that might otherwise go unnoticed, while being available to support residents of the community should the evacuation alert upgrade to an order, explained Cpl. Holly Largy, media relations officer with Langley RCMP.
In photos and video shared online in late July Mounties shared the destruction of the fire that has been burning for a month.
Another scorcher in 100 Mile House for our members & another video of the current #bcwildfires 🔥
Keep on staying safe everyone!#strongertogether #langleyrcmp #rcmp pic.twitter.com/iikfhijZPG
— Langley RCMP (@LangleyRCMP) July 23, 2021
Sgt. Rebecca Parslow with the local detachment returned from the South Cariboo about two weeks ago.
“The Langley RCMP and other RCMP resources from around the province are joining together to support those regions of the province that are affected by wildfires,” Parslow told the Langley Advance Times.
As of Thursday there were 10o firefighters battling the blaze, and 15 helicopters available for additional support.
READ MORE: Billions in losses, thousands could die if wildfire response unchanged: report
“The joint operation with our brother and sisters from other detachments was extremely rewarding and one of the reasons I joined the RCMP,” Parslow continued.
Video footage caught of the wildfires in 100 Mile House by Langley members#BCWildfire #BCWildfires #langleyrcmp #rcmp #StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/7bXQ59KAWa
— Langley RCMP (@LangleyRCMP) July 22, 2021
“No other police force has the ability to band together at a moments notice to support other regions of the province and/or country during a crisis. The community of 100 Mile House, while in the midst of great stress, were greatly appreciative of the support they have received from the RCMP, BC Wildfire, B.C. [Ministry of Transportation], and Department of Fisheries.”
“We tagged the pictures #strongertogether, for a reason.”
For more information on evacuation alert visit www.100milehouse.com/district-services/emergency-services/wildfire-information.
Have a story tip? Email: joti.grewal@blackpress.ca
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.