The BC Wildfire Service is reporting Aug. 14 the Narcosli Creek Fire is now 50 per cent contained and 90 per cent guarded. Yesterday, Aug. 13, it was 30 per cent contained.
Quesnel Mayor Bob Simpson explained in a social media post yesterday that the difference between contained and guarded is “that the fuel between the guard and the fire needs to be burned off to designate the area as ‘contained.’ “
The Narcosli Creek Fire, 31 km southwest of Quesnel, is now listed at 3,400 hectares, down from 3,788 yesterday. The BCWS explains that the decrease in size is actually due to a more accurate track of the size of the fire, rather than the fire area actually decreasing in size.
Fire information officer Robyn Clark says ground crews will continue burn operations to remove unburned fuels between the fire and the guard, and night operations with heavy equipment and ground crews worked throughout the night.
“Bucketing operations have been limited due to poor visibility due to smoky conditions, however, but there are five helicopters on site so if the smoke lifts or conditions improve, they’ll be able to assist in supression efforts,” she explains.
Crews will be focusing on constructing machine guard and the northeast flank today, with 104 firefighters, five helicopters and 10 pieces of heavy equipment still on site.
An evacuation order and expanded alert are still in effect for this fire.
The Blackwater River Fire, located around 72 km west of Quesnel, remains at 4,519 hectares today.
“The fire demonstrated aggressive behaviour yesterday, and BC Wildfire Service is now working on a containment plan for this fire and are mobilizing resources there,” says Clark.
She says they plan to use road systems and logging cut blocks in the area to tie in with plans for fireguards.
Resources on this fire have increased, with firefighter numbers increasing from eight to 17 today. One helicopter and six pieces of heavy equipment are still on site.
An evacuation alert for properties near Nazko and west of Highway 97 is still in effect.
An incident management team will be established in the North Cariboo by the end of the week, according to the Cariboo Fire Centre. It will be set up at Sylvia’s Cafe on Nazko Road.
“This is good news for the entire North Cariboo as it will ensure better information is gathered and communicated, and appropriate resources are put to each of the fires in the area. It’s important to note that the fires in Nazko and Blackwater are starting to bump up against last year’s burned areas, which will rob them of fuel without the need for additional resources,” commented Mayor Simpson in a Facebook post.
The North Baezaeko Fire, located west of the Blackwater River Fire, is now listed at 2,500 hectares – up from 1,000 hectares yesterday – while a new fire nearby in the North Baezaeko area discovered yesterday Aug. 13 is estimated at 370 hectares.
And the Shag Creek Fire, far west of Quesnel and north of the Itcha Ilgachuz Park, remains at 8,410 hectares after it increased from 7,000 hectares Aug. 13. It remains zero per cent contained and is still being monitored by the Cariboo Fire Centre.
An evacuation order remains in effect in the area.
A fires at Yuzkli Lake, northwest of Wells, remain listed at 140 hectares, with the Cottonwood Fire to the south of Wells still listed at 60 hectares.
The fire west of Mustang Lakes, also northwest of Wells, is estimated at 100 hectares. This fire is in steep terrain that is inaccessible to ground crews, says the Cariboo Fire Centre.
READ MORE: Update on wildfires in the Cariboo, Aug. 14
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