Petit Creek fire west of Merritt now being held

MERRITT, B.C. — UPDATE: The Thompson-Nicola Regional has now lifted all evacuation alerts surrounding the Petit Creek wildfire.

EARLIER: B.C. Wildfire crews have made good progress containing a 100-hectare wildfire just west of Merritt.

As of this morning, Fire Information Officer Gagan Lidhran says the Petit Creek wildfire is being held.

“There has been no growth since Sunday and most of the growth that we did see was due to high winds in the area,” Lidhran told CFJC Today. “The cause is still under investigation, but it’s suspected to be human-caused. We have 46 personnel on site along with two helicopters and their primary objectives are to continue with suppression efforts and water delivery to the fire.”

Lidhran says access was a problem, but bucketing helicopters helped get a handle on the blaze.

The Thompson-Nicola Regional District has yet to change evacuation alerts in effect around the fire.

Lidhran notes the fire danger remains moderate throughout the Kamloops Fire Centre.

The B.C. Wildfire Service is calling on people not to be complacent with fire. Most of the fires seen early in the season are suspected to be caused by human activity.

“Typically, when that happens it’s just an activity occurred and it got out of hand. Sunday particularly, there were high winds in the area. It only takes a couple (factors) in order to get a wildfire running.”