8;30 p.m. update: The large prescribed burn along the southern edge of the Gustafsen fire near 100 Mile House was successful, says Fire Information Officer Heather Rice.
“We had almost perfect weather conditions and winds for it,” she says.
“It was very successful so we’re pleased that we feel that we’ve protected the north area above the West Fraser and Norbord work sites quite a bit better now. With that large burn we’ve removed quite a bit of unburned fuel within the fire perimeter.
“Because the conditions are so good, I know they did a little bit of a ignition in another few areas that they were concerned about and it all went well.”
Overnight, she says that crews will work on mop up and wetting down areas to avoid any further flare ups.
Rice says that more resources will be coming in to help with the efforts to join additional crews that have already arrived.
Two strike teams (the equivalent of unit crews), each containing 21 people, from Ontario joined the fire efforts last night
“It was just a good day and we’re hoping for a few more of those.”
Rice says they are keeping an eye on the weather.
“Saturday there is a forecast where we could get some more significant winds, so that is one of the reasons we were happy to get this burn done.”
The fire remains at 20 per cent contained.
2:24 p.m. update: The controlled burn that had been planned is currently taking place, according to Fire Information Officer for the Gustafsen Fire, Heather Rice.
As a result there’s an increase in smoke. Members of the public do not have to be concerned about the increased activity as it is within the fire perimeter, says Rice.
An update on how the burn went will follow later in the day.
1:41 p.m. update: The Gustafsen fire is now 20 per cent contained, according Heather Rice, Fire Information Officer for the Gustafsen Fire.
Original story: The crews fighting the Gustafsen fire have been reinforced according to Fire Information Officer for the Gustafsen Fire Heather Rice.
“We now have 187 firefighters, 16 helicopters, 37 pieces of heavy equipment plus the support staff. We still didn’t get the full controlled burn off yesterday that we had hoped for. There was some done, but were still hoping to maybe get the rest done,” she says. One of the added teams came from Ontario, says Rice.
“In the meantime, the fire has not grown substantially in the last 48 hours or so. The controlled burns that were conducted helped enhance the fire guards especially along the east and south flanks.”
“The weather has been aiding in our efforts. It sounds like we might be expecting a bit of a cold front which could bring in gustier winds which always ends up being problematic but we will wait and see what happens with that,” she says, adding that she’s quite confident they’ll stick with 15 per cent containment until they have a better handle on some of the other guards.
