The Tremont Creek wildfire, Aug. 12, 2021.
Image Credit: B.C. Wildfire Service
August 16, 2021 - 12:18 PM
Efforts to control the Tremont Creek wildfire are expected to be challenged by north to northwest winds today, but potential rain in the forecast may counteract those concerns.
There is a chance of five to ten millimetres of rain to offer some relief at the blaze near Logan Lake today, Aug. 16, but that will be coupled with winds of 10 to 15 km/h and gusts up to 20 km/h, according to B.C. Wildfire Service fire information officer Erin Bull.
"Often in rain conditions like that, while rain is not sufficient enough to suppress the wildfire... the lower temperatures and higher humidity often can provide a few days of relief of fire activities," Bull said.
Planned ignitions were conducted and successful on Sunday to the east of the District of Logan Lake, near Face and Paska Lakes, according to the wildfire service. Planned ignitions were also conducted west of Logan Lake before Sunday.
Bull said the wildfire service has been burning potential fuel from Highway 97D on the fire perimeter.
Evacuation orders and alerts have not changed since Aug 15, meaning the District of Logan Lake remains under evacuation order, along with 166 Thompson Nicola Regional District properties south of Cherry Creek.
Properties in Kamloops in the Iron Mask and Pineview areas were also placed on evacuation alert out of caution on Aug. 15.
Within the community of Logan Lake, there have been no structures yet lost to the blaze. Randy Diehl said it's all thanks to a combination of Fire Smart efforts throughout the community and the work of firefighters that have arrived from around 20 different fire departments in B.C. to protect the community.
Diehl, interim chief administrative officer and director of the Logan Lake emergency operations centre, said he has heard of crews arriving from as far away as Elkford and Mackenzie to help protect the community.
"When it started on Saturday, the crews were awesome. They came in with aerial attacks and blew that fire away. It was incredible, like a war scene," Riehl said.
He also remains very confident in the community's Fire Smart tactics, which have included efforts over the last ten years to educate the public, remove potential fuels on the village edges and install rooftop sprinklers, while various fire crews patrol the community to suppress flare ups within its perimeters.
"This is a remarkable community effort in B.C., and I can't say enough about it. I know there's a lot of criticism out there, but those people are not experts. (Fire crews) are doing everything possible, and the facts are this is a massive, dangerous fire," Riehl said.
The Tremont Creek wildfire was discovered on July 12 and has since grown to an estimated 63,078 hectares.
The western flank near Barnes Lake remains quiet, so firefighter efforts are being dispersed among the north, west and east flanks. This includes 58 firefighters, 10 helicopters and 37 heavy equipment units.
Throughout the Sparks Lake wildfire complex, 94 structure protection personnel are dispersed to the three wildfires, including Sparks Lake, Tremont Creek and Embleton Mountain wildfires.
Bull could not specify exactly how many personnel are at each wildfire, but the majority are currently aiding the Tremont Creek wildfire area, with significant resources deployed to Logan Lake.
According to DriveBC, Highway 97C westbound traffic remains closed between Brolin Road and Landon Road, near Logan Lake, while it remains closed in both directions between Brolin Road and the Highland Valley Copper Mine.
Highway 97D is closed in both directions 1 kilometre east of Logan Lake for 13 kilometres to Paska Lake Road.
CONTENT ADVISORY
This video posted to social media shows a driver headed toward Logan Lake with fire activity burning adjacent to the road.
Go here for more updates from DriveBC.
Go here for evacuation updates from the District of Logan Lake.
Go here for evacuation updates from the Thompson Nicola Regional District.
If you have been ordered to evacuate, you can register for Emergency Support Services here.
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