Nine new wildfires were discovered in the Cariboo Fire Centre yesterday, Aug. 4, an update from the BC Wildfire Service reveals.
One was discovered in the Horsefly region but has since been called out. Four new fires were discovered in the 100 Mile Fire Zone, one in the Chilcotin zone, and the remaining three fires were located in the Quesnel Fire Zone.
There are a total of 74 active wildfires in the Cariboo Fire Centre, 39 fires are in Out of Control status, 13 are in Being Held status, and 22 wildfires are in Under Control Status.
Horsefly
Currently there are 21 active fires in the Horsefly region. There was one new fire that was discovered Aug. 4, which has since been called out. All fires have been assessed and actioned in priority sequence.
Four fires are on the east arm of Quesnel Lake, with the largest being 0.6 hectares in size. Crews are being sent to action these fires today.
Three fires are on the north side of Quesnel Lake. One is Out of Control, one is Under Control and one is Being Held and is approximately 20.6 hectares in size. Crews have made good progress on all three fires.
Four fires are located on the south side of Quesnel Lake and the largest is the Quartz Mountain fire estimated at 92 hectares. Crews will begin establishing lines for fireguards.
The largest fire is the Horsefly Lake fire, mapped at 526 hectares, which is now 100 percent contained. There are 26 firefighters, 10 pieces of heavy equipment, 2 helicopters and 1 fire officer on site. This fire is no longer under an evacuation alert.
VIDEO/PHOTOS: A look behind the scenes at the Horsefly Lake fire complex
100 Mile House
There are currently 18 active wildfires in the 100 Mile fire zone. There are no structures or communities threatened at this time, but multiple wildfires are highly visible from communities and highways.
All of the wildfires have been assessed and are being actioned in priority sequence. Ground crews, aircraft and heavy equipment are responding.
Yesterday, BC Wildfire Service discovered four new fires. The largest of these wildfires is estimated to be 4.1 hectares in size and is located west of Lang Lake. Airtankers have been working on this fire. The remaining three fires are all 0.01 hectares in size.
There is one fire located near Sodium Lake that is an estimated 24 hectares in size. It is now considered to be in ‘Under Control’ status.
There are two wildfires north of the Marble Range Park. The largest being the Wild Goose Lake fire, estimated at 20 hectares in size and considered to be in Being Held status. The other fire in this area is in Under Control status and is an estimated 0.8 hectares in size.
There is one active wildfire located north of Flat Lake Park and south of Gustafsen Lake FSR. It is approximately 0.3 hectares in size and is in Being Held status. The remaining fires in this area have been called out.
Quesnel
The BC Wildfire service has identified 19 active wildfires in the Quesnel fire zone; three of these were discovered Aug. 4. There are no structures or communities threatened at this time.
The BC Wildfire Service has responded to 17 new #BCwildfire in the Quesnel fire zone. All have been assessed and are being responded to in priority sequence with air tankers, ground crews, aircraft and heavy equipment. No structures or communities are currently threatened. pic.twitter.com/HCJ2dYHCnL
— BC Wildfire Service (@BCGovFireInfo) August 5, 2018
All of the wildfires have been assessed and being actioned in priority sequence. Ground crews, aircraft and heavy equipment are responding.
The first general area of wildfires is located north of Highway 26, east of the community of Quesnel and west of Bowron Lake Park. There are five fires in this area. The largest is estimated at 20 hectares in size. Sixteen firefighting personnel are on site.
Keithley Creek Mountain area has two wildfires. The largest is the Cottonwood fire, estimated at 60 hectares. There are 27 firefighters, two support staff and heavy equipment on site.
Four wildfires are north of the Itcha Ilgachuz Park. The Shag Creek wildfire is the largest fire in this area at an estimated 16 hectares. Skimmers are on site now and 20 firefighters are enroute.
Lastly, there are five fires south of Kluskoil Lake Park and northwest of Nazko. Two of these fires were discovered yesterday afternoon and air tankers are on site.
Williams Lake
The Williams Lake area in the Central fire zone has eight active wildfires. All of these fires are in Under Control status. There are no structures or communities threatened at this time.
All of the wildfires have been assessed and being actioned in priority sequence. Ground crews, aircraft and heavy equipment are responding.
The first is south of the community of Williams Lake approximately eight kilometres. All of these wildfires are considered to be Under Control. The largest is 0.3 hectares in size.
Two fires are located near the Junction Sheep Range Park; the largest is estimated at 199 hectares in size and is located inside the park boundaries.
Chilcotin
The BC Wildfire Service has identified eight active wildfires in the Chilcotin fire zone. One new fire was discovered yesterday near Palmer Creek and is estimated to be 4.88 hectares in size. Some wildfires may be visible from Highway 20 and communities. There are no structures or communities threatened at this time.
All of the wildfires have been assessed and are being actioned in priority sequence. Airtankers, ground crews, aircraft and heavy equipment are responding.
There are three fires in the Itcha Ilgachuz Park, with the largest being 55 hectares in size. Crews are actively patrolling this fire.
The fire south of Bull Canyon and is estimated at 4.3 hectares in size. This fire is in Under Control status and is being patrolled.
The Chantslar Lake fire, located to the north of Tatla Lake, is currently estimated at 120 hectares in size. This wildfire is now 100 per cent guarded and crews are working on implementing a hose lay.
Weather outlook
The region will experience a spell of hot dry weather throughout the Cariboo Fire Centre over the weekend and moving into next week. Temperatures are moving into the upper 20s and low 30s with relative humidity trending downward. Light winds between 10 to 15 kilometres per hour are expected, with stronger winds on Monday between 15 to 25 kilometres per hour with gusts up to 35 kilometres per hour in the Chilcotin.
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