Category Archives: Forest Fires

Jessica Lunn, mayor of Slocan, said she drove along Highway 6 this week to survey the damage done by a nearby complex of fires that forced the evacuations of hundreds and destroyed homes along the road. Lunn, who said attention was now turning to recovery, called the losses “heartbreaking,” …The Regional District of Central Kootenay said on Monday that the Komonko Creek blaze, which is one of more than 100 fires burning in the southeast region of the province, had destroyed or damaged at least five homes and 13 other structures along Highway 6. That fire is classified as one of four wildfires of note in B.C., meaning it is highly visible with the potential to pose a threat to public safety. …The BC Wildfire Service said Wednesday that respite may be around the corner with thundershowers expected to bring some much-needed moisture to areas of the province where hundreds of fires are burning, including in the Kootenays.

Several hundred residents of the Village of Slocan and the surrounding area of British Columbia’s Kootenay region are allowed to return home as officials downgrade an evacuation order prompted by a complex of wildfires. The Regional District of Central Kootenay had issued the order on July 28 covering 208 properties in the village and more than 300 in the surrounding area. Residents have been told to stay ready to leave on short notice and the village is on a boil water advisory as two wildfires continue to burn out of control nearby. Slocan Mayor Jessica Lunn says in an update posted to social media that people travelling through wildfire affected areas should “exercise extreme caution” due to hazards such as fallen trees.

Four wildfires continue to burn out of control in the Whistler and Pemberton area on Monday with crews battling the fires by air and on the ground. BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) crews have been at the fires for days after more than a dozen fires were started during a lightning event on Aug. 5. The largest of the fires is the Birkenhead Lake wildfire burning in heavy timber. It’s currently mapped at 360 hectares. On Monday, crews are working to establish objectives due to the rolling debris and steep slope that the fire is burning in. A helicopter is responding to the wildfire along with an initial attack crew, two unit crews, six operational field staff and two tree fallers. “Community members can expect to see smoke,” says a fire information officer. …Lighting activity continues in parts of B.C., while warm and dry conditions are expected to persist. 

Argenta has been downgraded from an evacuation order to alert, allowing residents to return home despite a wildfire still burning east of the small community. The BC Wildfire Service and Regional District of Central Community announced Thursday morning that 82 properties and 19 parcel identifiers north of Bulmer’s Point and east of Argenta Road, as well as Argenta and east of the southern portion of the Duncan forest service road, are no longer on an evac order. An evac order for Duncan Island and boat-access only parcels in Area D north of Glacier Creek Regional Park that impacted one property and 51 parcel identifiers has also been rescinded. The Argenta Creek wildfire, which has been burning since July 18, is 18,390 hectares in size within the Purcell Wilderness Conservancy and listed as out of control.

A wildfire at Plowden Bay, which is located just past Port Mellon and Dogpatch, has already spread to more than one hectare. According the BC Wildfire Service, the fire was first reported at around 4:30 p.m. this afternoon. According to one report, the fire has caused the evacuation of non-essential mill workers from the Howe Sound Pulp and Paper Mill on Port Mellon Highway. A person answering the phone at the mill, was not able to comment when asked to verify. A reporter for the Coast Reporter counted at least seven planes responding to the blaze, including several water bombers. The fire is described by the BC WildFire Service as “out of control”.

Parks Canada is preparing for a long battle with the Jasper wildfire complex, saying that it could rage on until November. Although recent precipitation has helped firefighting efforts on the ground, Parks Canada incident commander Landon Shepherd said in an update Tuesday that it hasn’t changed the long term “prognosis” of the blaze. “We’re expecting that the fire season will continue like it has for the last five fire seasons, where it may extend right into early November,” said Shepherd. Alberta Wildfire said it wouldn’t be uncommon to have a fire burn into the fall… “It depends on how much precipitation they get – it would not be unusual for a large scale wildfire to take several weeks certainly, if not months, to fully extinguish,” said Christie Tucker, Alberta Wildfire information unit manager. The status of the fire is still out of control and burning approximately 34,000 hectares and spanning more than 30 kilometres.

Additional coverage by Wallis Snowdon in CBC News: Summer could be over long before the fight to tame the Jasper wildfire is won

Mounties in Port Alberni say an off-duty officer spotted a woman who is believed to have started a wildfire. Tuesday, Aug. 6, the Port Alberni RCMP officer observed and reported a fire in a forested area, near the Stirling Arm and Canal Main forest service roads. Officers responded to the area and found a 27-year-old woman suspected of starting the fire. Police say she’s been held in custody and brought before the courts, and a detailed report is being sent to Crown counsel for consideration of charges. …Fire information officer Sam Bellion is urging people to use extra caution, including on Vancouver Island, where the fire danger rating currently varies from moderate to extreme. …She adds that so far this year, people are responsible for the majority of the wildfires reported within the Coastal Fire Centre, which includes the Island, Lower Mainland, Central Coast and Haida Gwaii.

NANAIMO — Expect some smoky skies across the region for the next couple of days. Environment Canada is calling for “local smoke” in the Nanaimo and Oceanside areas, beginning overnight Tuesday, Aug. 6, stemming from major wildfires in B.C.’s north. A pair of blazes west of Prince George and south of Burns Lake are providing the majority of the haze, with smoke first drifting west and then being picked up by coastal winds moving south. “[Those fires are] really producing more the stronger concentration of smoke that’s descending down on the Vancouver Island,” meteorologist Brian Proctor said. “We’re also seeing a little bit of smoke drift in and across…from the mainland.” Both the R11204 and the Michel Creek fires each measure around 11,200 hectares and were discovered in mid-July. …Smoke is forecast to reach the region beginning just after dinner on Tuesday and persist at least until Wednesday.

The Columbia Shuswap Regional District and town of Spallumcheen have issued evacuation orders and alerts due to the spreading Hullcar wildfire, at the advice of the BC Wildfire Service. The Hullcar fire was upgraded Tuesday evening by the BCWS to a wildfire of note. The township has placed numerous addresses on Hullcar Road, Deep Creek Road, Todd Place and Frederick Road on evacuation order. Addresses on Parkinson Road, Wyatt Road, Knobb Hill Road, Sharp Road and Salmon River Road and Hullcar Road are under evacuation alert. …The CSRD also has an evacuation alert in place for the east side of Salmon River Road from 1605 to 1915, as well as the west side of Deep Creek Road from 1606 to 2058. Those in the order area must leave immediately, while those under alert should be prepare themselves to leave at a moment’s notice.

The first bus tours into a partially-burned Jasper went ahead Monday morning, as officials from multiple levels of government, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, attended briefings in nearby Hinton, Alta. According to Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, buses left from Hinton and Edmonton Monday, carrying 62 passengers. Another bus, from Valemount, B.C., will leave on Wednesday. A total of 563 people have registered. Media are not permitted on the tours. Priority is being given to those whose homes were damaged or destroyed in the wildfire that ripped through the town more than a week ago. Residents are not allowed to leave the bus during the tour for safety reasons. Trudeau attended a technical presentation with Smith and Mike Ellis, Alberta’s minister of public safety and emergency services, Monday morning.

Battles against wildfires near Nordegg continued over the weekend. There are currently two wildfires classified as out of control in the western portion of the Rocky Mountain House Forest Area, according to an update from Alberta Wildfire on Monday. A wildfire referred to as RWF064, located 12 kilometres northwest of the Ram Falls Provincial Park boundary and 25 kilometres south of Nordegg, remains classified as out of control. This wildfire is now estimated to be 6,996 hectares in size. “Firefighters and heavy equipment continue work on building containment lines around RWF064, maximizing use of natural features in the area,” states Alberta Wildfire’s most recent update. “Thanks to the favourable weather, crews are making good progress on containment and suppression efforts. Helicopters will continue to support with strategic bucketing operations, as conditions allow.”

MANNING PARK, BC — The Calcite Creek fire, burning near the eastern edge of Manning Park, produced a pyrocumulonimbus cloud Sunday afternoon which generated thunder and lightning strikes. According to the BC Wildfire Service, the phenomenon is not uncommon on large, intense wildfires. “It is something that we see. That fire was burning rank four, so a crowning fire through the canopy, and when a fire burns that hot, one of the things that we can see is that it starts to generate its own weather,” said Taylor Shantz, a fire information officer. The fire is officially listed as 4,100 hectares in size, but Shantz said that is likely an underestimate because the weather being generated by the fire made it difficult for aircraft crews to clearly see the perimeter.

VICTORIA — Authorities issued an evacuation order Saturday night for 16 properties in a rural area south of Princeton, B.C., because of the out-of-control Calcite Creek wildfire. The properties are located near Highway 3 along the Pasayten Forest Service Road, about 40 kilometres south of Princeton, while alerts were issued for nearby properties at Eastgate and Placer Creek. The province’s Wildfire Service reports eight fires of note in B.C.’s southern regions, including the Dogtooth wildfire south of Golden, which has destroyed 15 structures; the Dunn Creek wildfire located about 100 kilometres north of Kamloops; the Sitkum Creek wildfire northeast of Vernon; and the Shetland Creek Wildfire near Lytton. A wildfire four kilometres south of the Canada-U.S. border at Oroville, Wash., started Saturday and is visible from nearby Osoyoos, B.C. …Officials say there are 333 active fires across B.C., with preparations underway for more lightning-triggered blazes over the coming days.

Crews in Jasper continue to battle hot spots Thursday as the massive fire nearby continues to rage out of control, with temperatures forecast to steadily rise into the weekend. “Fire activity is anticipated to increase during the peak burning period in the afternoon,” an update from Parks Canada reads, listing the size of the fire as 32,500 hectares. “We are entering a period of hotter drier weather, and the fire is anticipated to become more dynamic.” Midday temperatures in Jasper were around 21 C though those were expected to rise throughout the day to a high of 30 C, with a high of 32 C forecast for Friday by Environment and Climate Change Canada. The department expects temperatures to remain near 30 C through Saturday and Sunday, with showers forecast for late Sunday and throughout Monday.

Smoke in Central Alberta is coming from one of five wildfires in the Rocky Mountain House area. One of those fires is still being classified as out of control. This fire is located approximately 5 km west of the Forestry Trunk Road (highway 734), 19 km northwest of the Ram Falls Provincial Park boundary and 30 km south of Nordegg. This fire is estimated to be 1,400 ha in size. Due to high temperatures, strong winds and dry conditions, the fire experienced growth to the east and north perimeter yesterday. Due to intense fire behaviour and safety concerns for our firefighters, crews could not work on this fire yesterday afternoon. Heavy equipment operated through the night while the fire behaviour was low, along the southwest perimeter with the goal of heading southeast.

The fast-moving Jasper, Alta., wildfire was fuelled by a web of extreme conditions that converged into what experts described as a monstrous fire, serving as a disastrous example of what’s become increasingly common across Canada’s boreal forest. What has happened in Jasper National Park is a “microcosm of what we’re seeing across Western Canada,” said wildfire risk expert and former Parks Canada wildland firefighter Mathieu Bourbonnais. More than 20,000 people in and around the Rocky Mountain townsite were ordered to evacuate last Monday. …Questions and accusations have followed, including from critics who argue Parks Canada and other government agencies did not do enough to protect Jasper. …Wildfire expert Mike Flannigan says the major drivers of the fire were a confluence of several extreme conditions. Drought in Western Canada combined with a roughly three-week stretch of hot temperatures to dry out the vegetation in the forest.

CHERRYVILLE, BC – The Sitkum Creek wildfire burning near Sugar Lake remains much the same, Wednesday. BC Wildfire Service still has the fire classified as out of control, meaning it is expected to spread beyond its current boundary. The fire has been mapped at 1,993 hectares since Thursday July 25. BCWS says heavy equipment is continuing to support 34 personnel to build a machine guard along the west flank, closest to structures. On Monday, the Regional District of North Okanagan eased some evacuation orders and alerts for the area. Evacuation orders remain in place for lands east of Sugar Lake, though 1616, 1622 and 1630 Sugar Lake Road have been downgraded to an evacuation alert. [END]