No precipitation over the past two days coupled with hot and dry weather has resulted in the fire danger rating rising to extreme for some areas of the Cariboo Fire Centre.
“The fire danger in the Cariboo Fire Centre is currently high with pockets of moderate and pockets of extreme particularly in the Chilcotin fire zone,” said fire information officer Robyn Clark.
“No precipitation or lightning occurred in the Fire Centre yesterday or is anticipated for today. We are expecting hot and dry weather until Friday.”
There are currently three wildfires of note within the Cariboo Fire Centre including the Horsefly Lake fire that is 90% contained.
Both the Shag Creek and Wild Goose fires are 0% contained.
“Given the current fire danger rating wildfires can ignite and easily spread rapidly,” Clark said.
“With these hot and dry conditions, the forests and grass are very susceptible to wildfires. Our resources are currently deployed and actively working on existing wildfires so we cannot afford to divert resources to human-caused wildfires which are preventable.”
A campfire ban remains in effect throughout the Cariboo Fire Centre. Anyone found in contravention of an open fire prohibition may be issued a ticket for $1,150, required to pay an administrative penalty of up to $10,000, and if convicted in court, fined up to $100,000 and/or sentenced to one year in jail. If contravention causes or contributes to a wildfire, the person responsible may be ordered to pay all firefighting and associated costs.
Fire Activity in the Cariboo Fire Centre for Thursday, August 9:
Nine new wildfires were discovered in the Cariboo Fire Centre Wednesday and one today. Six of these were within the 100 Mile Fire Zone, the largest is 40 hectares and is located near 70 Mile House. Three new fires were discovered in the Quesnel Fire Zone and one new fire is located in the Horsefly area.
Quesnel zone
There are 19 wildfires burning in this zone, three were discovered Wednesday afternoon.
-C11853 –20 ha– Wells/Barkerville –Under Control –Six firefighters on site.
-C11819 –60 ha –Swift River–Being Held –35 firefighters on site.
C11837 –900 ha –Shag Creek—see Wildfire of Note above
-C12302 –25 ha– Tzenzaicut Lake –26 crew members are on site. This fire may be visible to the communities of Kersley and Quesnel. There are no structures or communities threatened at this time
-C12230 –40 ha– W of Pantage Lake/S of Big Valley Creek. This fire experienced aggressive fire behavior yesterday. No structures or communities are threatened at this time.
-C12328 –17 ha— East of Blackwater River —One helicopter on site . No communities or structures are threatened at this time.
-C12338—0.1 ha– Chevans Creek –Personnel is on site to assess the fire. No communities or structures are threatened at this time.
-C12156 –0.01 ha— Nazko Road –Spot fire, ‘Out of Control’
Williams Lake Zone
There are nine fires burning, all of these are Under Control.
-C21673 –199 ha –Junction Sheep Range Provincial Park –Under Control – being monitored
-C21875 –15 ha –Tom Hutch Creek –Under Control –being monitored
-C22283 –9.5 ha –Stum Lake – 22 firefighters on site –Under Control
Horsefly zone
There are 21 active fires. All fires have been assessed and actioned in priority sequence.
-C31689 –333 ha –Quartz Mountain –Being monitored
-C31691 –27 ha –east arm Quesnel Lake –Being monitored
-C31688 –12 ha –Heningram FSR—Crew is on site
-C31678 – 526ha – east of Viewland Mountain – See Wildfire of Note above.
-C31606 –16 ha –north of Buxton Creek –15 firefighters on site—Under Control
-C31692 –50 ha—east of Warttig Lake –Being monitored
100 Mile zone
There are 30 active wildfires in this zone. Several of these fires saw increased fire activity and aggressive fire behaviour Wednesday due to weather conditions. Six new fires were discovered and no structures or communities are threatened at this time. All of the wildfires have been assessed and are being actioned in priority sequence.
-C42133 –10 ha –west of Lang Lake –A crew is onsite –Being Held
-C42138 –100 ha –south of Lang Lake –BCWS will begin constructing guard around this fire.
-C42324 –100 ha –70 Mile—One helicopter and 29 personnel are on site. No communities or structures are threatened at this time.
Chilcotin zone
The Chilcotin Fire Zone currently has four active wildfires.
-C51925 –120 ha –Chantslar Lake –43 personnel on site –Under Control
-C51752 –55 ha – south of Itcha Ilgatchuz Park –Crews are making excellent progress, there are 18 personnel onsite –Being Held