5:50 p.m. update: A fire discovered today in the Green Lake area is currently being referred to as the Jim Lake fire, as it’s closer to that than Green Lake according to Fire Information Officer Lynn Daina.
“Right now we have three crews on it: an initial attack crew and two other five man crews. We’ve got a water truck, four helicopters and two bombers on it. It’s about 20 hectares and it’s burning to the north, northeast,” she says.
“Things are looking really good with the way the fire is being managed.”
That being said, if an order did come through residents of the Watch Lake and Pressy Lake areas would have to be out within an hour, says Daina. While there is no boating or lake use restriction on Green Lake, people are asked to get out of the way if they see aircraft nearby.
People are also asked to avoid the intersection north of Green Lake where Pressy Road and Little Green Lake Road intersect.
Original story: There’s a newly discovered fire (July 26) just South of Little Green Lake according to the BC Wildfire Service map.
The fire, initially listed at an estimated size of two hectares, is now listed at an estimated 17 hectares and “new” as the stage of control.
More details to follow.
Earlier in the day, at 3 p.m. the BC Wildfire Service released a statement saying that they were expecting increased fire behaviour. The release stated:
After several days of favourable weather for firefighting, weather conditions are worsening in the Cariboo Fire Centre. An increase in fire behaviour and wildfire growth is expected.
Winds are anticipated to pick up the afternoon of July 26 and are forecasted to reach 25 km/h from the southeast, with gusts up to 40km/h. Winds are expected to shift later in the day to 20 km/h, with gusts to 40km/h from the northwest and persisting until midnight.
There is also a chance of lightning throughout the Cariboo Fire Centre, which could start new wildfires. Winds associated with lightning storms will be gusty and their direction will be unpredictable. No significant amount of rain is expected. Winds will pick up again tomorrow and the risk of lightning will continue through Thursday, July 27.
The major wildfires burning in the Cariboo Fire Centre, with the exception of the Gustafsen fire, are classified as “out of control.” Large areas of these fires are uncontained and their perimeters will grow with the winds that are expected. The containment percentages are likely to decrease as these fires spread. It is also possible that some containment lines may be breached if the winds are significant enough to push the fires into unburned fuel across these lines or create new spot fires outside of the main fire areas.
Evacuation alerts and evacuation orders are reviewed on a daily basis by the BC Wildfire Service and local governments.
