Claire Allen, BC Wildfire Service representative, and Dan Seguin, Information Officer for Emergency Operation Centres with the Regional District of Central Kootenay, held a media briefing Thursday afternoon to provide an update on the region’s wildfire situation.
Over the last seven days, 146 new fires have been detected in the region, with 1,800 lightning strikes reported.
Allen said of the 146 new fires, 79 remain classified as out of control, 23 have been deemed under control, and 34 have been declared out.
Around 11,000 hectares have burned over the last week. 95 per cent of the fires are believed to be the result of lightning, with nine fires suspected to be human-caused and under investigation.
The areas around Kootenay Lake, Slocan Lake, and Arrow Lake are the most impacted, accounting for 80 per cent of the wildfires in the region.
A cold front that moved through the area Wednesday created significant challenges in wildfire suppression efforts.
“We did see a cold front move through the area, which resulted in some very sustained and very gusty winds, which challenged our wildfire suppression efforts throughout the Southeast Fire Centre and the Central Kootenay region, and was responsible for significant growth on nearly all of the wildfires in the area,” explained Allen.
The weather system forced the fire service to pull back ground crews at several fires in the region; however, she said when possible, structural protection crews replaced wildland crews to continue protecting critical infrastructure.
Aviation resources were limited on Thursday due to varying visibility; however, they will be deployed again as soon as they can be operated safely.
Both established and emerging fires are continuing to be assessed, with resources prioritized based on the forecasted impact to the wildland-urban interface and critical infrastructure.
Additional resources are being brought in to help manage both the current wildfires and new fires that may occur.
Evacuation Orders:
There are currently 557 properties in the region under an evacuation order, and 1,085 properties under an evacuation alert.
Between 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and 1:30 a.m. Thursday, the RDCK was forced to issue four new evacuation orders.
Currently, there are six evacuation orders in place in the RDCK. Four are in Electoral Area H, around Slocan Lake, and two are in Electoral Area D, on the north side of Kootenay Lake.
The six evacuation orders are connected with fires at Aylwin Creek, Komonko Creek, Nemo Creek, Mulvey Creek, Wilson Creek, and Argenta Creek.
Two evacuation alerts have been issued in relation to fires at Wilson Creek impacting the village of New Denver up to Rosebery, and the fire at Ponderosa affecting areas around The Village of Slocan.
There have been no confirmed structural impacts, but Allen said it’s a dynamic situation that both the wildfire service and regional district will continue to assess in the coming days.
“Any structural impacts or loss will be reported to RDCK, and they will be in contact with residents. You know, our thoughts are with those in impacted areas because we know they’d like that information as soon as possible. So we will be trying to get that information out to folks as soon as we can give that credible information when we’re able to do the assessments.”
Where to find information
The BC Wildfire Service is the primary source of information for all wildfire activity.
Regional District Central Kootenay (RDCK) is the primary source of information for evacuation orders and evacuation alerts.
Drive BC for all information on roads and road closures.
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