Fire centre braces for more hot weather this weekend
Evacuation alerts for four suspected lightning-caused fires have been rescinded as firefighters continue to make progress containing wildfires in the Kamloops Fire Centre.
The Coldstream Creek wildfire burning 15 kilometres southeast of Ashcroft is now 100 per cent contained.
Fire information officer Kelsey Winter said fire crews hope to have that fire mopped up by the end of the week.
After ballooning to 250 hectares in one day, the fire did not grow for the rest of the week.
The Thompson-Nicola Regional District (TNRD) lifted the evacuation alert for 24 properties near the fire thanks to the progress made in fire suppression efforts.
Firefighters made significant progress over the weekend and mop-up operations continued on Monday, the Wildfire management branch noted on its website.
The Central Okanagan Regional District lifted all evacuation orders and alerts issued for the Westside Road wildfire, burning west of Okanagan Lake.
Discovered last Sunday, the fire grew to an estimated 560 hectares in size and is currently 75 per cent contained.
The Bolean Lake wildfire burning northwest of Falkland is 75 per cent contained as well and the Columbia Shuswap Regional District has lifted an evacuation alert in this area.
Firefighters have made progress digging containment lines around the fire, which is an estimated 350 hectares in size.
The fire was discovered last Monday, and cooler temperatures combined with calmer winds and higher levels of humidity have reduced fire activity.
The fire is most active on its southern flank due to the prevailing wind direction and fuel sources.
Southeast of Clearwater, a 21 hectare fire is now 100 per cent contained.
The Adams West fire located off the Adams West forest service road hasn’t experienced any substantial growth for the past three days and thus the TNRD has lifted an evacuation alert for six properties near Adams Lake.
Despite receiving about 100 millimetres of rain over the weekend across the Kamloops Fire Centre, Winter said that precipitation was only enough to dampen the top fuel layers, meaning conditions are still dry in deeper layers.
“It won’t take much for the fire danger rating to rise again,” Winter said.
She said there’s rain in the forecast today, but hot and dry conditions are expected to return tomorrow and continue into the long weekend, Winter said.
