10 hectares burned with planned ignitions on Mt Law wildfire | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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10 hectares burned with planned ignitions on Mt Law wildfire

The Mt Law wildfire near Highway 97C, Aug. 20, 2021.
Image Credit: FACEBOOK/Roanna Nykole

With cooler temperatures, planned ignitions on the Mt Law wildfire in West Kelowna went well yesterday, says a wildfire information officer.

About 10 hectares were burned in small pockets in the Carre Road, Preston Road and McKellar Road areas, said B.C. Wildfire Service information officer Luke Robinson. The fire is burning within West Kelowna's boundaries and north of the Okanagan Connector.

Today, crews are working on containment guards on the southwest side of the fire and may use hand ignition tools if the weather allows it to burn small pockets of fuels up to the guard, he said.

In the last two days, skimmers were used to cool the edges of the fire near Highway 97C and crews have been using guards to contain the fire's southern flank. They may use one small section of the highway as a guard to hold the fire, Robinson said.

READ MORE: West Kelowna teacher loses home in Mt. Law wildfire

In the last few days, the B.C. Wildfire Service has seen people pulling over and slowing down on the Okanagan Connector to grab photos of the fire, but after a warning was issued Robinson said he hasn’t seen further problems and people seem to be listening.

They haven't seen any rainfall on the fire overnight but with the extreme drought conditions, any precipitation that hits the ground instantly evaporates, so it’s not really beneficial unless crews get significant rainfall, he said.

“We’re pushing for trying to get containment around the fire. That’s the priority at the moment, getting containment so we have no open edges,” Robinson said.

The fire is still classified as out of control and burning at 800 hectares in size. A few properties in West Kelowna remain under an evacuation order but most of evacuees have since returned home as much of the order was downgraded to an alert.

For more information on current evacuation orders and alerts, visit the Emergency Operations Centre’s website.

 


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