Straight Talk

B.C. wildfires continue to rage out of control

by Charlie Smith on July 9th, 2017 at 7:40 AM
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      The provincial government website now lists 11 "wildfires of note" in the Cariboo and Kamloops fire centres.

      Normally, only the largest and most difficult-to-contain blazes receive their own entries. On Thursday of last week, there were only three on the list for the entire province.

      The biggest in the Kamloops area is a 4,200-hectare Ashcroft Reserve interface fire. That's more than 10 times the size of Vancouver's Stanley Park.

      Five helicopters and 20 firefighters are on the scene as of the last update at 9:17 p.m. on Saturday.

      "Structures have been impacted by the fire," the B.C. Wildlife Service states on its website. "Due to poor visibility, it is not possible at this time to determine the number of structures that have been affected."

      Another large blaze in the region is a 1,500-hectare interface fire 10 kilometres north of Princeton. It's zero percent contained.

      Sixty firefighters and two helicopters have been deployed, according to the last update at 9:15 p.m. on Saturday.

      The other major wildfires in the Kamloops area are a 300-hectare Thuya Lake interface blaze, which is described as "out of control", and a 120-hectare interface fire north and west of Dunn Lake.

      Cariboo region hit hard

      Lightning is believed to have started several fires in the Cariboo area of B.C. over the past couple of days.

      The largest is the Hanceville wildfire near Williams Lake covering an estimated 10,000 hectares. It actually includes several fires.

      The next largest is the Gustafsen Lake interface wildfire, which is 3,200 hectares and zero percent contained.

      The 150 Mile House and the Dragon Mountain interface wildfires are each 2,500 hectares and are also zero percent contained. The Wildwood fire is 2,000 hectares.

      The cause of all five of these wildfires remains under investigation.

      In addition, there are 100-acre interface fires at Soda Creek and Spokin Lake Road in the Cariboo.

      Alberta firefighters dispatched

      B.C.'s wildfires are generating media coverage around the world. And the province's next-door neighbour, Alberta, is sending 100 firefighters to battle the blazes.

      Meanwhile, those who lived through the Fort McMurray fire in Alberta have set up a Facebook page to offer advice to British Columbians suffering the impact of recent wildfires.

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