The Nk'Mip Creek Wildfire at Tucelnuit Lake, July 27, 2021.
Image Credit: John Poon/johnpoon.ca
July 28, 2021 - 9:43 AM
B.C. Wildfire Service crews are continuing their structure protection efforts today as a wildfire near Osoyoos continues to burn in the northeast, east and southern directions.
Crews fighting the Nk'Mip Creek wildfire are focusing their efforts to protect homes in the McKinney Road, Anarchist Mountain and Shrike Road area, said fire information officer Dani McIntosh.
Firefighters from Mexico have been helpful since they started work yesterday, she said.
“It’s made a huge impact, honestly, not only in the operation itself but just as a presence with more personnel on the ground so residents and visitors can see a bit more of what’s happening. It’s been difficult in the last few days with the minimal resources we’ve had so far and people being concerned they’re not seeing (firefighters) in the community,” McIntosh said.
The service was unable to get up in the air last night to get an update on the fire’s perimeter, so it’s currently still mapped at 6,800 but has experienced significant growth within the last few days, McIntosh said.
Most of the fire’s growth has been on the northeast, east and southern perimeters of the fire, she said.
Residents have been using a website, zoom.earth to determine where the fire is, but McIntosh said while it might provide a general measurement, she "wouldn’t consider it to be an accurate measurement."
"There’s just a lot of different factors that play into the perimeter of the fire which makes it so difficult to map," she said.
Yesterday, the forecast 30 km/hr winds didn’t happen, which was good for fire behaviour, she said.
“Today we might see that change a bit. We’re seeing the same trends this morning. Winds will come from the north switching to the southwest later in the day and expecting to see a bit more fire behaviour today with the clear skies,” she said.
There are 46 structural protection personnel, 134 wildfire personnel, 26 heavy equipment operators and five aircraft on the blaze today.
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