A small handful of lightning-caused fires on the shores of Lillooet Lake grew substantially on Tuesday, Aug. 19, but BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) officials are hoping some expected wet weather will help turn the tides in their favour.
“The crews are out there deployed, we have lots of resources out there working on these fires, they’re making good progress,” said BC Wildfire Service fire information officer Dorthe Jakobsen of the three out-of-control fires near Lillooet Lake on Wednesday morning.
“We’re expecting rain today or tomorrow in the area, and that will be a lot of help to suppressing these fires.”
The fires are are 20, 12, and 10 hectares in size.
There are no homes or critical infrastructure at risk at this time, Jakobsen added.
Another fire burning in the remote backcountry on Mount Miller also saw massive growth on Tuesday, jumping from four hectares to 52.
“That is a tough fire,” Jakobsen said.
“We’ve got 17 firefighters out there working on that one.”
BCWS crews have been on their feet in the Coastal Fire Centre since the Sunday-night storm ignited dozens of new fires.
The storm sparked no fewer than 32 small fires as of Wednesday morning, including 14 in the Pemberton Fire Zone alone.
Of those 14 fires, six were classified as out and two were under control, while six are classified as out of control, Jakobsen said on Wednesday morning.
A 0.01-hectare fire was also discovered on Mount Sproatt Monday night at 7:30 p.m., Jakobsen said, but it was quickly extinguished.
Many of the fires are in difficult terrain, but “that’s what the BC Wildfire Service does,” she added.
“That’s what our crews are trained to do. They’re very good at it, and yes we definitely encounter challenges, lots of access, lot of terrain challenges, but the crews are well prepared for anything they find out there.”
Human safety is the No. 1 factor when it comes to prioritizing which fires to fight, Jakobsen said, followed by the protection of critical infrastructure.
“When we get this kind of lightning storm we have initial attack crews who go out, and if we can get on site quickly, we can quite quickly deal with small lightning fires,” she said.
“So you’ll see these fires being dealt with over the next day or two. Plus we’re seeing in the forecast lots of rain Thursday (and) Friday so hopefully that will be a turning point for all these new lightning fires.”
The Pemberton Fire Zone has four, three-person initial attack crews and two, 20-person crews at its disposal.
“The last thing we need is more fires out there, and human-caused fires are completely preventable, so we are definitely encouraging the public to stay vigilant and safe in our wonderful woods, and make sure that all campfires are small, half a a metre by half a metre, and that the ashes are cool to the touch when they leave the area,” Jakobsen said.
It’s possible more lightning-caused fires are smouldering in the backcountry, she added, “so we are encouraging the public also to report anything they suspect might be a fire and call as at 1-800-663-5555 or *5555 on the cell.”
Check bcwildfire.ca for updates.
