Crews on the Gustafsen fire to the north west of 100 Mile House have now achieved 100 per cent containment.
“It means that there is a minimum guard of 25 feet around the perimeter of the fire, but we’re pushing into 100 to 150 in areas,” says Fire Information Officer Lynn Daina.
That guard section is cleaned and mopped up around the entire perimeter.
The 100 per cent contained mean that the Gustafsen fire is now considered “being held.”
“It indicates that with the resources that we currently have allocated to the fire, there is sufficient suppression action that the fire is not likely to spread beyond the existing boundaries under prevailing and forecasted conditions,” says Daina.
The next step is to bring it to “under control.”
“That would be when the fire has received sufficient suppression action to ensure no further spread of the fire. Once it’s under control then it is scanned for hotspots for a period of time, then the hotspots are actioned. When a period of time goes by after that and there are no longer any hotspots, then it is out,” says Daina.
Although more activity with winds and warm weather is expected, Daina says crews have a good handle on things and should be able to action any fire activity accordingly.
“I would like people to exercise caution because although we are in very good shape it still is a dynamic situation and residents are on alerts so it does mean that if necessary they must be prepared to evacuate — just to keep that in mind and exercise a bit of caution and keep your eyes on the sky and on the news and be prepared.”