Seven new wildfires have been sparked across the region, as another seven burn out of control.
New fires
The largest new wildfire was discovered on Friday in the Dewar Creek area, west of St. Mary’s Alpine Provincial Park. It is about 20 hectares in size is believed to have been caused by a lightning strike.
Two wildfires have sparked near Mount Fisher, east of Fort Steele. One is a 10-hectare blaze in the Tanglefoot Creek area, the other is south of there, it is a 1.1-hectare fire near Sunken Creek.
Near Maguire Mountain, a 1.1-hectare fire is active after it was discovered on Thursday. The blaze is northeast of Grasmere.
The remaining new fires are all under one hectare in size.
Southeast of Creston, a 0.01-hectare fire is active just north of the Canada/US border in the Mission Creek area.
Two other 0.01-hectare fires are active southwest of Wardner. One is in the Pennock Creek area and the other, south of there, is near Rocky Creek.
Just west of the B.C./Alberta border, a 0.1-hectare fire is active in the Flathead Pass area.
Out-of-control fires
Estimates from the BC Wildfire Service said the Cultus Creek wildfire has grown to about 611 hectares in size. The fire is just east of Kootenay Lake and was first discovered on Friday, July 2nd.
Two large fires are burning across the lake, one in Akokli Creek and one in Redding Creek. They are 356 and 131 hectares in size respectively. The BC Wildfire Service has enacted an area restriction around the two fires on Wednesday.
The public will only be able to enter and exit the vicinity for specific reasons, such as using the highway, travelling to and from your home, as long it is not under an evacuation order, or if you are helping firefighting efforts.
More: Akokli and Redding Creek under area restrictions (July 14, 2021)
Another 140 hectares of forest is burning out of control near Kamma Creek, southeast of Kianuko Provincial Park.
Farther north, a 195-hectare burn in the Carney Creek area is burning out of control.
Another out-of-control wildfire is a 100-hectare fire near Bill Nye Mountain, southeast of Wasa.
A smaller, two-hectare fire is burning out of control in the Sheep Creek area after it was discovered on Thursday.
Fires being held or under control
Firefighters have gained hold of two wildfires in the region: an 11-hectare blaze near Big Lake, east of Highway 93, south of Wasa and a 26-hectare burn in the Granite Creek area.
The remaining wildfires across the East Kootenay are under control, including a 29-hectare wildfire in the Moyie River area.
A three-hectare fire near Centaur Lake south of Canal Flats is under control by firefighting crews.
Small fires near Gold Mountain and Bear Creek are also under control. They are 1.31 and three hectares respectively.
