Cooler temperatures and precipitation over the weekend have helped allow wildfire crews to use “direct attack” methods on the 62,895-hectare Flat Lake wildfire, southwest of 100 Mile House.
The progress made by crews, along with decreased fire behaviour over the past few days has also prompted several downgrades of evacuation orders and alerts throughout the South Cariboo.
“With the cooler weather and precipitation we have seen the past few days, it allows (crews) to get in there and attack in a more direct way,” Nicole Bonnett, information officer for BC Wildfire Service said Sunday. “It sounds like we are expecting next week for the temperature to pick back up and the relative humidity to decrease, so the long-term impact isn’t going to be as noticeable. But in the short term, it has damped the fire activity and allowed our crews to get right to the fire line.”
The Emergency Support Services centre in 100 Mile House was once again relocated on Sunday to the 100 Mile Community Hall, where volunteers will be evaluating to what capacity they can help evacuees from other regions.
“Right now we don’t have anyone left in our area under our care. Everybody got to go home yesterday,” ESS manager Liz Jones said, noting that there may be some incoming evacuees from the Canoe Creek, Dog Creek and Falkland communities.
“We’ll be looking for people who are not in evacuation alert areas, who may have places to put animals in case people need to move out and have a place to put their critters.”
Jones said the centre’s hours may be reduced in the coming week or two, in order to give the hardworking volunteers a much-needed break.
“We’re just waiting on orders to see what takes place this week,” Jones said.
As of Sunday afternoon, alerts remain in place for portions of Flat Lake North, Green Lake and the far west area of 108 Mile Ranch. An alert on the north side of Canim Lake, due to the Succour Lake fire, was lifted Sunday afternoon.
Bonnett said that good progress has been made on the Flat Lake fire by way of controlled ignitions on the south flank, between 70 Mile and Meadow Lake, and on the west flank, noting those areas within the fire lines were “looking really quiet” over the past few days.
In the northeast corner, where the fire perimeter parallels Highway 97, crews will continue to mop up, working their way north; on the northwest corner, heavy equipment will begin building new containment lines.
At the Young Lake fire, most recently measured at 6,937 hectares, BCWS is reporting low fire behaviour along the perimeter of the fire. Crews continue to mop up along the east and southeast flanks of the fire, and air support is on hand to cool any reported hotspots. Several properties in the Bonaparte Plateau area were downgraded from evacuation order to alert last week; an evacuation order is still in place for the area closer to the fire perimeter.
CRD-issued alerts at the South Canim Lake fire have all been lifted; an alert for the Canim Lake Band remains in place. That 3,049-hectare fire is now listed as “being held.”
As orders and alerts are rescinded, Bonnett is reminding residents that crews will still be out working in fire zones and to keep their safety in mind as they’re returning home.
“It is still very much an active fire and an active Work BC site, with crews and heavy equipment and aircraft in the area,” Bonnett said. “Please be mindful of your speeds along the roads as you’re heading home.”
Bonnett also asked that anyone seeking information about fires call the information line rather than trying to ask fire crews directly.
“We don’t want to lose all the hard work that has been done by them being interrupted from what they are trying to do,” she said.
With the weather forecast next week expected to warm up again, Bonnett said more visible smoke is a possibility, as unburned fuel within the fire lines could ignite.
melissa.smalley@100milefreepress.net
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter