The BC Wildfire Service continues to action several active wildfires in the East Kootenay into August long weekend.
An expanded Evacuation Alert has been activated around the Lladnar Creek Wildfire near Sparwood, while an Area Restriction Order was issued around the Mia Creek Wildfire east of Radium Hot Springs early Friday afternoon.
Evacuation Orders and Alerts around the Horsethief Creek Wildfire and Yearling Creek Wildfire in the Columbia Valley remain unchanged.
The Kama Creek fire is burning in a remote area southwest of Cranbrook, the blaze does not pose a threat to any structures but smoke from that fire is covering parts of Cranbrook.
The St. Maryβs River Wildfire is being held, 36 ΚaqΜam properties remain on Evacuation Order due to that fire.
View more information from the BC Wildfire Service via the Regional District of East Kootenay below:
REGIONAL WILDFIRE UPDATE (posted: Aug.4.23 2:45pm)
Here is todayβs Regional Wildfire Round Up with information from the BC Wildfire Service.
LLADNAR CREEK (N12406) β west of Sparwoodβ’ Winds are expected to remain light today, though can become elevated in this valley. Slightly cooler temperatures are forecast for today with a bump in relative humidity. There is a 30% chance of showers and a risk of thundershowers later in the afternoon.
β’ Overnight conditions on the Lladnar Creek wildfire was rank 3 with pockets of rank 4, which is a moderate to highly vigorous surface fire with candling.
β’ In the morning hours, it has settled back into rank 1 fire behaviour β a smouldering ground fire with little open flame.
β’ Downslope growth was noted on the south slope. Control lines tied into the Matevic Draw held overnight. No significant spotting was noted during the active overnight burning period.
β’ Conditions on site and the weather forecast have not aligned for an optimal window and the planned aerial ignition will not be moving ahead today that was planned for the east slope.
β’ Steep and rocky terrain, along with an increased safety risk from danger trees, keeps ground crews working from the control line at the toe of the slope.
β’ On the east slope, crews will continue to do some small-scale hand ignition operations to strengthen containment where possible as the fire reaches control lines.
β’ Ground crews, heavy equipment and rotary wing aircraft are assigned to this incident along with Structural Protection Resources. Responder and public safety remain the top priority.
ST. MARYβS RIVER FIRE (N11805)β’ It remains classified as Being Held and is not anticipated to grow beyond itβs current perimeter.
β’ While the fire remains active, it is active within the perimeter.
β’ You will continue to see smoke as fuels within the perimeter burn β this is expected and should not be cause for alarm.
β’ They still have resources assigned to the fire and crews are identifying and working on hot spots.
β’ The Evacuation Order remains in effect β and there is a Recovery Team working to get people able to return to their homes safely and have the Order area lifted as soon as it is safe to do so.
β’ The Wildfire of Note page is no longer being updated for this fire.
HORSETHIEF COMPLEX (Yearling Creek, Mia Creek, Horsethief Creek)The BC Wildfire Service would like to remind the public to stay clear of active work zones and remain outside of the Evacuation Order area for this fire. They continue to remind the public the use of drones near active fires is strictly prohibited.
Occasional gusty winds are expected around the Invermere area today which could have some minor impacts on fire behaviour and growth. Slightly cooler temperatures and an increase in relative humidity could bring in some improvement to overnight recoveries on the fires.
There may be thunderstorms in the late afternoon on both Friday and Saturday, with temperatures of mid-20 degrees. This could bring some instability to the area and impact fire behaviour throughout the weekend in the evenings.
Poor overnight venting conditions, in addition to smoke being blown in from other fires to the west, are causing smoky conditions in valley areas.
Horsethief Creek Fire (7km north of Panorama)β’ The Evacuation Order and Alert remain in effect and there have been NO changes on them.
β’ Objectives for crews have remained stable for the last 48 hours. The increased smoke will continue to be highly visible to communities.
β’ Crews are continuing to construct guard along the Andreen drainage where safe to do so.
β’ Personnel are prepared to conduct planned ignition operations as soon as August 5 along the Neave drainage to tie into existing guard and secure containment on the east flank of the fire. This planned ignition operation will only occur if the right conditions are present, including: wind speed, wind direction, and temperature, among others.
β’ Other ground crews will be continuing to secure the guard lines along the Bruce Forest Service Road.
β’ Contingency guard is being finished in the Horsethief Creek and Toby Creek areas by heavy equipment operators.
β’ Aircraft will be supporting to deliver water to areas where it is unsafe for ground crews to operate on steep terrain with poor access.
β’ Structure protection personnel remain assigned to this fire and are continuing to do assessments in the area of the fire.
Yearling Creek Wildfire (23km east of Radium Hot Springs)β’ The Evacuation Order and Alert remain in effect and there have been no changes in the past 24 hours.
β’ Personnel are prepared to conduct planned ignition operations as soon as August 5 along the existing guard near Yearling Creek and Cochrane Creek to the south of the fire. This planned ignition operation will only occur if the right conditions are present, including: wind speed, wind direction, and temperature, among others.
β’ Crews are making good progress on the 50-foot wet line along the Cross Forest Service Road on the west flank.
β’ A unit crew is working on removing fuels along the Heartbreak Creek area, working from Cochrane Creek towards the north to support the planned ignition.
β’ The Cross River Forest Service Road is currently closed to all public access from the Kootenay-Palliser Road.
Mia Creek (17km northeast of Canal Flats)β’ An Area Restriction was implemented earlier today for the Mia Creek Fire. To view the details and map of the Area Restriction visit www.bcwildfire.ca. NOTE: They did amend the Area Restriction this afternoon to permit access to Whiteswan Provincial Park for both travel and recreation purposes. Map: https://tinyurl.com/2ce6k9w2
β’ The estimated size on this fire is now 2,301 hectares β and it continues to produce visible smoke, particularly in the heat of the late afternoon/early evening.
β’ Crews are beginning work on widening the White Moscow Road to improve safe access and establish an adequate work area for ground crews.
β’ Personnel are preparing for ignition operations towards the north and west flanks of the fire. Planned ignitions will only occur if the right conditions are present, including: wind speed, wind direction, and temperatures, among others.
β’ Heavy equipment operators will be commencing work on contingency lines to the north and east of the fire. Safe access for firefighting personnel remains a concern, limiting the ability to put firefighters on the ground at this time.
FLATHEAD CREEK (formerly Cate Creek) β 50km southeast of Fernieβ’ This is a suspected lightning-caused fire
β’ Currently estimated at 0.3 hectares in size and is a modified response fire, which means it will be managed using a combination of techniques with the goal to minimize costs and damage while maximizing ecological benefits from the fire.
There are no other significant changes to report on any of the other fires in the region. The Lum Creek fire northeast of Fisher Peak continues to be active and produce a large plume of smoke, but is being monitored and is in a remote area at this time.
For residents of Cranbrook and the surrounding area, you can expect to continue to see smoke coming from the south as a result of the Kamma Creek Fire (which is burning in the Central Kootenay on the Creston side about 37 kilometres southwest of Cranbrook). This fire has been quite active the past few days and is being monitored by BCWS.
NO FIRES ALLOWED THIS LONG WEEKENDβ’ There are no fires permitted anywhere in the East Kootenay at this time β including campfires.
β’ Fireworks are also prohibited.
β’ The Fire Danger Rating in the East Kootenay is extreme.
β’ We are still receiving reports of campfires and it is critical that everyone abide by these burning restrictions and continues to be extremely diligent.
β’ Portable propane campfires are still permitted at this time; however, they must be ULC and CSA approved and have a maximum flame height of 15cm.
WEATHERβ’ There is a chance of thunderstorms and lightning in various parts of the region starting potentially as early as tonight and stretching through the early part of next week.
β’ There is a possibility of some rain in the region β likely closer to Monday.
IF YOU SEE SMOKE / FIRE β REPORT ITβ’ With the chance of lightning in the forecast, we all have a huge role to play in reporting any new starts early. A reminder the numbers to call are 1-800-663-5555 or *5555 (on your mobile phone). The BC Wildfire App also has a reporting tool that works really well and allows you to upload a photo.
The BC Wildfire Service remains the best resource for the latest information on the fire front and they are updating the pages frequently.
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