73 wildfires continue to burn throughout the Kamloops Fire Centre: BCWS

As of Monday afternoon, there are 73 wildfires burning throughout the Kamloops Fire Centre, 44 of which are currently classified as out of control. The most significant fire in the region continues to be the Shetland Creek wildfire, which is listed as just under 25,000 hectares.

Elsewhere in the region, the Dunn Creek Fire just east of Little Fort continues to burn out of control. The fire is currently listed at over 1200 hectares, with four properties along Dunn Lake Road under an evacuation order and 32 others under an evacuation alert.

“We do have 21 firefighters that are on site, as well as two structure protection crews that continue to triage and work in the surrounding area,” Shae Sterns, Kamloops Fire Centre Information Officer said. “Assisting them today is also heavy equipment, which is helping to establish machine guards, mainly focusing on the north and southern flanks of that fire.”

After the extremely hot and dry stretch of weather that the region experienced in mid-July, more seasonable temperatures have prevailed through last week and into the weekend. This has given crews on some fires a bit of a respite.

However, many fires continue to display aggressive fire behaviour throughout the region.

“For some of our fires, we did see a decrease in activity over the weekend, and when that happens on the ground, it can sometimes allow crews to get in closer and go direct attack, in certain areas. Or it can shift objectives and allow them to get ahead of [the fire],” Stearns explains. “It’s a welcome change for our crews on the ground when it’s not stiflingly hot. They’re doing hard labour out there, so it is beneficial that way. But in certain areas, we did see fire activity pick up, where wind and slope aligned, so crews still action on those certain areas.”

On Sunday, the Stumbles Creek Wildfire near the Craigmont Mines was declared out by the B.C. Wildfire Service. The five hectare blaze kept firefighters busy since it was discovered near Merritt, on  Tuesday, July 23.