A 36-hectare fire 40 kilometres southwest of Lac La Hache is contained, but the B.C. Wildfire Service remains cautious.
“We’re not confident at this time it won’t spread,” Cariboo Fire Centre fire information officer Natasha Broznitsky explained Sunday about a fire the BCWS is still listing as “out of control.”
With temperatures approaching 30 C and some winds in the area, “the weather is certainly playing into it.”
There are 50 firefighters on scene, backed up by a helicopter and some heavy equipment. Crews are working to reinforce the containment lines which were established on Saturday around the entirety of the fire.
The fire’s cause has been confirmed to be lightning.
While the fire’s “out of control” status might suggest concern for the public, it’s more about the wildfire service remaining cautious.
“There’s certainly nothing be alarmed about at the moment,” she said. “We don’t want to bump (the status) up to ‘being held’ until 100 per cent certain.”
Smoke from the fire is visible in nearby communities, the BCWS reports. Kathy Brown, a resident of 100 Mile House — roughly due east of the fire — told Postmedia she could smell smoke on Saturday but not on Sunday. She thought the smoke was likely from the fire.
The fire 40 km southwest of Lac La Hache is contained by control lines but because of weather conditions BCWS firefighters are worried it could spread.
Fire south of Owen Lake “being held”
A blaze 40 kilometres south of Houston has also kept about 80 firefighters busy this weekend.
This fire is about 75 hectares in size, is contained and isn’t expected to grow.
A fire 40 km south of Houston is being held by firefighters and isn’t expected to spread.
Wildfire service’s new status words
A new trio of statuses are being used by the BCWS this year: out of control, being held and under control.
“We’re using them to better align with other services,” Brozntisky explained. The terms are from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre; “they reflect the direction that fire agencies are taking throughout the country,” the BCWS’s website explains.
Broznitsky likes the new terminology as it better describes the fire’s status, as opposed to the BCWS’ current response. Until last year, terms like “initial attack,” “expanded action” or “mop up” were used to describe the situation, but were perhaps a bit too complicated for what the public was looking for.
“It wasn’t ideal,” she said of the previous terms.
According to the BCWS:
• “Out of control” will now be used instead of the previous “initial attack” and “expanded attack” to describe a fire “that is not responding (or only responding on a limited basis) to suppression action, such that the perimeter spread is not being contained.”
• “Being held” replaces “expanded attack” and “mop up” to indicate “sufficient suppression action has been taken that the fire is not likely to spread beyond existing or predetermined boundaries under the prevailing and forecasted conditions.”
• “Under control” is being used in place of “100 per cent contained” and “patrol” when “the fire has received sufficient suppression action to ensure no further spread of the fire.”
• “Out” will still be used to describe a fire that is no longer burning.
