There are now 97 new wildfires burning within the Cariboo Fire Centre region since Monday.
Fire Information Officer Jessica Mack confirms that there are no structures or communities threatened at this time.
That number includes 14 wildfires in the Quesnel zone in three general areas…
“The first kind of general area is north of Highway 26, east of the community of Quesnel and west of Bowron Lake Park, and there are five fires in that areas. The largest is estimated at 20 hectares in size. Firefighters, heavy equipment and aircraft are on site. The next general area is the Keithley Creek Mountain area. Two fires are there and the largest is the Cottonwood fire and it’s estimated at 60 hectares. And lastly there are the fires north of the Itcha Ilgatchuz Park. There are six fires in that area with the largest being the Tasha Lake fire and that one is estimated at two hectares in size and it is under control.”
Mack says closest fire to the City of Quesnel is still about 45 kilometers away.
She says there are currently 33 fires burning in the 100 Mile House zone in five different areas…
“The first cluster of fires is near Mount Hendrix. There are six fires in this area. The largest is 15 kilometers northeast of Mount Hendrix and that one is estimated at one hectare in size. The next cluster of fires is North of Horse Lake and east of 100 Mile House. There are seven fires in that area and none are larger than 0.01 hectares in size. The next area there are a total of 8 wildfires located north of Flat Lake Park so that’s to the west of the community of 100 Mile and south of Gustafsen Lake Forest Service Road. The largest is 0.6 hectares.”
Mack says there are also two very visible fires south of Green Lake on the east side of Highway 97 with the Sodium Lake wildfire being the largest at 24 hectares in size.
There are currently 13 wildfires in the Williams Lake area that includes three clusters.
“One is south of Williams Lake, about 8 kilometers. All are considered under control with the largest being 0.3 hectares in size. The next area is Knife Creek. There are two in that area, both 0.01 hectares and the last area, there are four fires neat the junction of Sheep Creek Park and the largest is 199 hectares.”
The only wildfire of note in the Cariboo is the Horsefly Lake wildfire, now mapped at 503 hectares.
That fire has led the Cariboo Regional District to issue an Evacuation Alert for 93 properties in the Tatelkuz Lake area, 131 kilometers west of Quesnel, because of concerns over road access.