The Narcosli Creek Fire is now 70 per cent contained.
The fire, located north of Tzenzaicut Lake and 31 kilometres southwest of the City of Quesnel, is mapped at 3,400 hectares in size. There are 99 firefighters and five helicopters on site, numbers which have stayed the same since yesterday, plus 17 pieces of heavy equipment and three water tenders.
Robyn Clark, a fire information officer (FIO) with the Cariboo Fire Centre, says burn operations on the northern and southern flanks were successful yesterday, and crews are continuing to work on the fire guard on the north and eastern flanks of the fire today. Weather permitting, more burn operations will be completed today.
The Blackwater River Fire, located east of the Blackwater River and 72 kilometres west of Quesnel, is still listed as zero per cent contained and 4,519 hectares. There are 24 personnel, four helicopters and six pieces of heavy equipment on site, similar numbers to yesterday when there were 23 firefighters, four helicopters and seven pieces of heavy equipment. Clark says that crews worked throughout the night to establish a guard on the northern flank and successfully completed a guard along the western flank. She says crews will reinforce the guard with burn operations today, if the weather permits.
READ MORE: New Wildfire of Note at North Baezaeko, west of Quesnel
The North Baezaeko Fire, the newest Wildfire of Note in the Quesnel Zone, is located west of the Blackwater River Fire, south of Kluskoil Lake Provincial Park and approximately 85 kilometres west of Quesnel. It is currently estimated at 2,500 hectares, which has remained steady since yesterday; however, crews have not yet been able to track the perimeter or map it on GPS.
There are now 58 personnel, two helicopters, nine pieces of heavy equipment and one water tender on site. Crews worked to establish containment lines throughout the night and are working today to establish contingency lines and burn off possible fuels to reinforce the guard. It is also zero per cent contained.
Next to the North Baezaeko Fire is another fire currently estimated at 370 hectares.
The Shag Creek Fire, located west of Shag Creek and north of Itcha Ilgachuz Provincial Park, remains estimated at 9,300 hectares in size and the Cariboo Fire Centre says it is being monitored. Crews were taken off this fire last week when the fire became too aggressive for crews to work safely.
Just north of the Cariboo, in the Prince George Fire Centre, the Chutanli Lake Fire, located 11 kilometres northeast of Tatelkuz Lake, continues to grow. According to the BC Wildfire Service Map, the fire has grown east into the Cariboo region. It is now listed as 10,591 hectares and out of control, up from 9,800 hectares yesterday. There were 48 firefighters and 20 heavy equipment on this fire as of 12:30 p.m. yesterday, up from 29 firefighters and 17 pieces of equipment Aug. 15.
As of 11:50 a.m. Aug. 16, evacuation orders and alerts remain in effect for all of these fires, although one alert was reduced on Aug. 14, with properties north of Quesnel taken off alert.
According to a Facebook post written by Bob Simpson, the mayor of Quesnel, an incident management team will be set up for the North Cariboo fires some time today.
It will be set up at Sylvia’s Cafe on Nazko Road.
Simpson said yesterday, Aug. 15, in a Facebook update that good progress continues to be made on the Narcosli Creek Fire, freeing up resources to deploy to other fires in the region.
He said with the ground crews burning between the fire and the guard, more smoke may be visible over the next few days.
“The level of support we received for the Narcosli Creek Fire was impressive, timely, and successful. A very big thank you to the Cariboo Fire Centre and all the crews who have and who continue to work so hard on this fire (and all the others!),” he noted.
READ MORE: Three new fires yesterday in Cariboo Fire Centre: Aug. 16 update
READ MORE: A comprehensive look at evacuation orders, alerts and fires in the Quesnel Fire Zone
heather.norman@quesnelobserver.comLike us on Facebook
