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Evacuation Order downgraded to Evacuation Alert for 15 Woods Corner East properties

Cranbrook, BC, Canada / 102.9 Rewind Radio - East Kootenay
Marvin Perry
Jul 26, 2023 | 1:49 PM
Evacuation Order downgraded to Evacuation Alert for 15 Woods Corner East properties


An Evacuation Order covering fifteen properties in the Woods Corner East area has been downgraded to an Evacuation Alert as of Wednesday afternoon.

The properties had been on Evacuation Order due to the St. Mary’s River Wildfire,

Those who are returning home are reminded to remain prepared to evacuate if conditions change and an Evacuation Order needs to be re-issed.

The wildfire remains at 4,093 hectares and has been displaying rank 1 behaviour.

BC Wildfire Service crews plan to conduct hand ignitions around the fire’s eastern edge which may prompt smoke to appear.

View a statement supplied by the Regional District of East Kooteany and the ʔaq̓am Community about the downgraded Evacuation Order below:

As crews continue to make progress on the St. Mary’s River Wildfire, the Evacuation ORDER for 15 properties in the Woods Corner East Area has been downgraded to an Evacuation ALERT.

“This is great news and I know will be welcome to all those who have been out of their home in the Woods Corner area since last Wednesday. Having said that, we want to stress to people within the entire Evacuation Alert area that they are still on Alert and should stay prepared and be ready to leave on a moment’s notice should conditions change and an order needs to be re-issued,” says Information Officer Loree Duczek.

The Evacuation Alerts in the Wasa, Tata Creek, Old Airport, Lakit Lake, McGinty Road, Clearview Road, Sommerfeldt Road, Woods Corner West, Campsall Road and Fort Steele areas all remain in effect. The full list of affected areas can be viewed at www.rdek.bc.ca.

The BC Wildfire Service is undertaking some small-scale planned hand ignitions within the fire’s perimeter today, so smoke will be visible this afternoon. The latest updates on the fire can be found on the Wildfire of Note page on www.bcwildfire.ca.

The information line remains open at 250-426-2188 or toll free 1-855-346-2188 and, when not staffed, will have a recorded message with the most updated information.

Wednesday’s early afternoon update on the fire from the BC Wildfire Service can be viewed below:

Wildfire Information

Updated July 26, 12:25 p.m. MST

Fire Behaviour & Site Conditions

Fire activity remains observed as a smouldering ground fire (rank 1). Learn more about wildfire rank. All control lines continue to hold. Wednesday is forecast to be sunny, warm and dry with variable, but generally light, winds. On Thursday, there is potential for thunderstorms bringing dry lighting and gusting winds.

In the days to come, the BC Wildfire Service will be working with local governments on the process of reviewing and lifting evacuation alerts and orders as soon as it is safe and practical to do so.

Operations

On Wednesday, firefighters are working to secure guard along the fire’s eastern edge using small-scale hand ignitions. Elsewhere on the fire, crews continue to patrol and extinguish hotspots where they occur.

Crews have noted some creeping ground fire in the area of the Airport Pasture prescribed burn to the southwest corner of the fire and to the southeast in the area of a 2017 wildfire. While this low-intensity fire is not currently threatening structures, crews will be taking the opportunity to do some small-scale hand ignitions on any pockets of fuel in the area. More information on these operations can be found in an operational update with Incident Commander Daniel Klein and Loree Duczek, recorded July 25 at 11:45 a.m. MST. View the video update here.

These small-planned ignitions are planned for Wednesday afternoon if conditions are favourable. These operations, which will be conducted by hand, remove unburnt fuel between the fire edge and guards in an intentional manner to reduce the chance of the fire spreading beyond control lines. Hand ignitions will be ongoing in the coming days when conditions allow. Intermittent increased smoke will be visible to the surrounding communities during these operations.

Aviation
There are three aircraft assigned to this incident. Rotary wing (helicopter) resources will be continuing to support the fire throughout the day as visibility and daylight allows. Ground crews and aviation are working in tandem to detect and suppress hotspots as they are discovered during the day.

Structure Protection 
Structure protection work is ongoing in areas of potential concern.

Heavy Equipment
Several pieces of heavy equipment remain on standby on site.

Evacuation Orders and Alerts

Evacuation ALERTS and ORDERS for The ʔaq’am community have been updated as follows:  https://www.facebook.com/aqam.community

The Regional District of East Kootenay has an evacuation ALERT in effect as follows:
https://www.rdek.bc.ca/departments/protectiveservices/emergencyinfo/evacuation_alerts_orders/

The City of Cranbrook has implemented an evacuation ALERT for the Canadian Rockies International Airport: https://cranbrook.ca/news/evacuation-alert-in-place-for-canadian-rockies-international-airport-due-to-st-marys-river-fire

Donations
No approved GoFundMe campaigns have been started by the ʔaq̓am staff in response to this wildfire. Any GoFundMe campaigns linked to this incident are not connected to the community. Further details can be found in the official media release.

– Article includes information from the ʔaq̓am Community, Regional District of East Kootenay and BC Wildfire Service

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