A truck sprays fire retardant at the Tremont Creek wildfire near Ashcroft, July 22, 2021.
Image Credit: TWITTER/BC Wildfire Service
July 24, 2021 - 4:00 PM
A wildfire burning near Ashcroft has almost been completely surrounded by a machine guard, according to the B.C. Wildfire Service’s latest update.
The Tremont Creek wildfire has been stable since yesterday and there hasn’t been any significant growth within the fire perimeter, said wildfire information officer Forrest Tower, during a live-stream update hosted by the Thompson Nicola Regional District Saturday afternoon.
There was a spot fire on the southwestern flank near Barnes Lake yesterday but air tankers and crews were able to get it under control with plans to contain it today, he said.
“The entire fire, other than a two-kilometre section, has been wrapped with machine guard and they hope to finish that today,” Tower said.
Crews are focusing on removing forest fuels from within the current fire perimeter to secure guard lines, Tower said.
In the next few days, there also may be a break with the smoke, he said. Cooler night temperatures are also helping B.C. Wildfire crews but he warned the wildfires are still active.
The Embleton Mountain, a 920-hectare wildfire near Sun Peaks “is looking very stable,” he said. “Wildfires are dynamic and things can change but at the moment the fire is contained within existing control lines." Firefighters are focusing on the western and southern flanks of the fire near communities putting out hot spots.
The Sparks Lake wildfire north of Kamloops is still active on the northeastern side of the fire, and it is currently mapped at 56,110 hectares with the increase in size mostly due to growth occurring in the last few days, and more accurate mapping from B.C. Wildfire as the smoke has cleared, Tower said.
“It’s not growing anymore east or towards the Bonaparte area its kind of getting fatter as the fire is being passive burning in some dry timber… it’s slowly moving outwards but no major growth in any particular direction and no major overall growth.”
Crews are focusing on structure protection on the southern part of the fire and once that is secure, crews will work on the east and west flanks of the fire with the goal to contain it off at the top, he said.
Some people have been asking when evacuation orders will be rescinded as fire activity has died down, but evacuation orders remain in place as crews continue to work and use road access on the wildfires, Tower said.
There are more than 1,000 properties under evacuation orders within the regional district and 4,000 more are on evacuation alerts.
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