Update: 7:06 p.m.:
BC Wildfire chief information officer Kevin Skrepnek said Thursday evening’s wildfire on Fox Mountain reached about one hectare in size.
After air tankers responded, attacking the fire with retardant, around 25 ground crew returned to extinguish the fire, he said, noting the fire falls within the jurisdiction of the Williams Lake Fire Dept., so the BC Wildfire Service was assisting.
At this time it is anticipated the fire was human-caused as there was no lightning in the area Wednesday, Skrepnek said.
Several witnesses at the scene wondered if the fire had been caused by logging equipment working in the area, but that has not been confirmed as of yet.
As for fire reported near Dugan Lake Thursday evening as well, Skrepnek confirmed that it was a small grass fire.
“It falls within the jurisdiction of the local fire department and they are responding,” he said.
Update 6:30 p.m.: The Williams Lake Fire Department has left the scene and wildfire crews are back at work, following a bomber dropping fire retardant on the flames.
Original story: The Williams Lake Fire Department and the BC Wildfire Service are responding to a wildfire on Fox Mountain.
Emergency crews, also including the RCMP, are parked on scene on Ross Road. The road remains open, however the fire department is doing traffic control.
A Williams Lake fire truck was seen responding to the smoke around 4:30 p.m, while a spotter plane is flying in circles over the location to determine the size of the fire.
It’s a scene reminiscent of last year, with the location appearing to be in the same spot as fires from the previous summer.
Children out on school fields playing soccer could see a large water bomber responding to the Fox Mountain Fire.
The cause of the fire is unknown at this time.
Kevin Skrepnek, Chief Fire Information for the BC Wildfire Service confirmed Thursday afternoon that they are also getting reports of a fire near Dugan Lake.
More to come.
