Update at 10:10 p.m.
The 100 Mile Fire zone has seen an increase in activity on Thursday, Aug. 9, due to hot and dry weather conditions.
The Houseman fire north of House Lake Ridge grew to 12 hectares and caused 57 properties to be evacuated. Airtankers worked on the fire today and continue to support the crews, aircraft and heavy equipment currently on site at the fire, which is highly visible to the surrounding area.
Evac order issued for Houseman Road area, about 12 km NE of 100 Mile. ESS Centre at the 100 Mile Community Hall. Evac route via Kaluza Rd and/or Houseman Rd to Canim-Hendrix Lake Rd to 100 Mile. More info: https://t.co/A2VTKd1X9v pic.twitter.com/BAktIMeHrk
— CRD (@CaribooRD) August 10, 2018
The Lang Lake fire continues to grow because of “aggressive fire behaviour,” according to BC Wildfire Service’s update. It is now estimated at 200 hectares. Crews and heavy equipment attended to the fire today.
Ground crews at the Wild Goose Lake fire worked to establish a guard around the 1,400 hectare fire today and have contained approximately 30 per cent of the eastern flank. Workers will continue to contain the fire in its entirety.
The fire east of 70 Mile House showed aggressive behaviour today, increasing to 400 hectares. Aircrafts and crews are continually working on towards containing the perimeter of this fire, which moved north toward areas burned in the 2017 Elephant Hill fire.
The Young Lake fire is also showing aggressive behaviour. The 90 hectare fire is not currently threatening any any communities or structures. BC Wildfire Service will deploy resources as they become available.
Cariboo residents are being asked to monitor cariboord.bc.ca for information and updates.
Thompson Nicola residents should monitor tnrd.ca for updates regarding the Wild Goose Lake, 70 Mile House and Young Lake fires, which fall in the Thompson Nicola jurisdiction.
#Cariboo update: There has been increased #BCwildfire activity due to weather conditions for several of the fires within the #100MileHouse Fire Zone today. Please see the screencap below for more details. pic.twitter.com/SLoKeziKT6
— BC Wildfire Service (@BCGovFireInfo) August 10, 2018
Update at 6 p.m.
The Wild Goose Lake Fire increased from 850 to 1,400 hectares on Thursday, Aug. 9.
Original story at 1:50 p.m.
Six fires were called out on Aug. 8. Three of them were in the Quesnel Zone, Horsefly Zone and Chilcotin Zone. The remaining three were all in the 100 Mile House area.
Nine new wildfires were discovered in the Cariboo Fire Centre on Aug. 8 and one on Aug. 9. 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 (see C12330 and C12328) and one new fire is located in the Horsefly area.
The fire danger rating in the Cariboo Fire Centre is currently ‘high’ with pockets of ‘moderate’ and pockets of ‘extreme’, particularly in the Chilcotin Fire Zone. No precipitation or lightning occurred yesterday or is anticipated for today. We are expecting hot and dry weather until Friday, Aug. 10.
There is a campfire ban 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.
Please remember to report all wildfires to 1-800-663-5555 or *5555 on your cell phone.
Wildfires of Note:
There are currently three Wildfires of Note within the Cariboo Fire Centre. Please check here for future updates on these fires.
Horsefly Lake (C31678), Cariboo Fire Centre
Location: North of Horsefly Lake and west of Haggens Point Road
Status: 526 hectares mapped, 90% contained
Cause: Lightning-caused
Resources: 29 firefighters, 12 pieces of heavy equipment and 3 helicopters.
Objectives: There was a small excursion beyond the fire guard yesterday. Ground crews and equipment are working to regain full containment.
Evacuations: None
Shag Creek (C11837), Cariboo Fire Centre
Location: West of Shag Creek
Status: 900 hectares estimated, 0% contained
Cause: Lightning-caused
Resources: None
Objectives: Given current and expected fire behaviour, crews have been pulled off this fire for safety reasons. The BC Wildfire Service is continuing to monitor this fire.
Evacuations: An Evacuation Order has been implemented by the Cariboo Regional District for properties in the Shag Creek area. For more information, please visit the Cariboo Regional District Website.
Wild Goose Lake (C41745), Cariboo Fire Centre
Location: Wild Goose Lake
Status: 850 hectares mapped, 0% contained
Cause: Lightning-caused
Resources: There are 54 firefighters, one helicopter, and four pieces of heavy equipment on site.
Objectives: Due to wind conditions this fire escaped the guard on Aug. 8 and has since grown. Ground crews will be working to establish containment lines.
Evacuations: None
Below is a summary of other active fires, by zone, as of first thing this morning on Aug. 9. For current sized on wildfires not listed below, please check the All Current Wildfires web page.
Quesnel Fire Zone
There are 19 wildfires burning in this zone, three were discovered yesterday afternoon.
C11853 –20 hectares– Wells/Barkerville –Under Control –Six firefighters on site.
C11819 –60 hectares –Swift River–Being Held –35 firefighters on site.
C11837 –900 hectares –Shag Creek—see Wildfire of Note above
C12302 –25 hectares– Tzenzaicut Lake –There are 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 hectares– West of Pantage Lake/South of Big Valley Creek. This fire experienced aggressive fire behaviour on Aug. 8. No structures or communities are threatened at this time.
C12328 –17 hectares— East of Blackwater River —One helicopter is on site. No communities or structures are threatened at this time.
C12338—0.1 hectares– Chevans Creek –Personnel is on site to assess the fire. No communities or structures are threatened at this time.
C12156 –0.01 hectares— Nazko Road –Spot fire, ‘Out of Control’
Williams Lake Zone
There are nine fires burning, all of these are Under Control.
C21673 –199 hectares –Junction Sheep Range Provincial Park –Under Control – being monitored
C21875 –15 hectares –Tom Hutch Creek –Under Control –being monitored
C22283 –9.5 hectares –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 hectares –Quartz Mountain –Being monitored
C31691 –27 hectares –east arm Quesnel Lake –Being monitored
C31688 –12 hectares –Heningram FSR—Crew is on site
C31678 – 526 hectares – east of Viewland Mountain – See Wildfire of Note above.
C31606 –16 hectares –north of Buxton Creek –15 firefighters on site—Under Control
C31692 –50 hectares —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 on Aug. 8 due to weather conditions. Six new fires were discovered yesterday. No structures or communities are threatened at this time. All of the wildfires have been assessed and are being actioned in priority sequence.
C41745 –850 hectares –Wild Goose Lake –See Wildfire of Note above.
C42133 –10 hectares –west of Lang Lake –A crew is on site –Being Held
C42138 –100 hectares –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 hectares –Chantslar Lake –43 personnel on site –Under Control
C51752 –55 hectares – south of Itcha Ilgatchuz Park –Crews are making excellent progress, there are 18 personnel onsite –Being Held