Fight against local fires continues for BC Wildfire Service

Fires continue to grow in our region, but no additional evacuation alerts or orders have been issued.

Horsethief Creek Fire 

The fire has been mapped at 1,667 hectares.

BC Wildfire Service officials said there has been increased fire behaviour this week due to the dry and windy conditions.

Similar conditions are expected to continue throughout the week.

Crews are anticipating poor ventilation conditions for the next little bit, so communities in the area may experience more smoke than normal.

Aviation activity is still ongoing and the BC Wildfire Service wants to remind people that the airways over wildfires are no-fly zones.

An evacuation alert is still in effect for 26 dwellings in the Lake Enid, Bear Mountain and Horsethief Creek Areas.

The fire is believed to have been sparked by lightning and was discovered on July 24.

Yearling Creek Fire

The Yearling Creek blaze is an estimated 1,304 hectares.

Conditions are about the same as in the Horsethief Creek fire.

Crews are working on installing a 50-foot wet line along the Cross Forest Service Road on the west flank of the fire. They have been making good ground and will be continuing this work throughout the week.

A planned ignition is also planned for sometime in the next 24-48 hours as long as conditions are good.

An evacuation alert is still in effect for Settler’s Road and Horseshoe Rapids Recreation Site.

Lladnar Creek Fire

This blaze was 380 hectares on Monday and has since grown to 431.

Crews said growth has been slow and guards are up from Cummings Creek in the north to Lladnar Creek in the south.

An Incident Command Post is established at the Sparwood Recreation and Leisure Centre.

Other regional wildfires

• The Mia Creek wildfire northeast of Canal Flats has grown to 881 hectares as of Monday.
  • The fire was sparked by a lightning strike on July 24.
• The Kamma Creek wildfire west of Moyie Lake is burning across 290 hectares of forest.
  • The fire was first spotted on July 20 and is believed to have been caused by a lightning strike.
• The North Lodgepole Creek wildfire northeast of Elko has grown to eight hectares.
  • The fire was caused by lightning and was first spotted on Monday.
• The Lum Creek wildfire is believed to be 0.01 hectares and was spotted northeast of Fort Steele.
  • It was also reported on Monday and is believed to be caused by lightning.
• The St. Mary River fire remains at 4,640 Hectares and has been downgraded to being held.