UPDATE:
The fire on Milburn Mountain no longer appears on the B.C. Wildfire Service’s interactive map. The Observer is currently waiting on more information on all fires located near Quesnel.
ORIGINAL POST:
A blaze on Milburn Mountain, 38km west of Quesnel, past Bouchie Lake, is the closest of a series of fires popping up in the region.
According to the latest updates from B.C. Wildfire Service, the estimated size of the fire is 0.1 hectares and it is listed as new, having just been reported today (June 21).
An 8.8 ha fire, which was also reported today, is burning south of Wells, just north of Swift River. South of Swift River, near Cariboo Mountain, a 0.1 ha fire, which was started by lightning, has been burning since at least yesterday (June 20).
READ MORE: Lightning sparks handful of fires in Cariboo region
Lighting is also responsible for a .01 ha blaze south of Gibraltar Mine by McLeese Lake.
To the west of the city, Nazko has a fire that was last reported as 0.1 ha large, and to the east, another lightning-caused blaze of similar size is burning just outside of Wells.
Woodpecker, a small community near Hixon, is also dealing with a 0.1 ha fire that was reported yesterday.
B.C. Wildfire says due to below-average seasonal rainfall, the fire season is expected to be active.
There were about 5,000 lightning strikes reported in the Cariboo region yesterday, with 25 incident reports and 20 fire starts.
READ MORE: 115 new wildfires burning across B.C. due to 19,000 lightning strikes
Most of the fires are not very large, with only a couple in the two to 10 ha range.
B.C. Wildfire is reporting that all are being actioned and none has been marked as problematic.
More thunderstorms are expected in the next day or two, with associated lightning.
Check back to Quesnelobserver.com or see the B.C. Wildfire Service website for up-to-date news.
ronan.odoherty@quesnelobserver.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
