Weather stalls significant growth at White Rock Lake fire: BC Wildfire Service

An update posted Sunday by the BC Wildfire Service says there continues to be moderate growth in areas along the fire’s north, northeast and southeast flanks, though it adds that fire behaviour has diminished along the entire southern flank.

The service says the eastern flank of the fire that’s measured at 557 square kilometres is highly visible to surrounding communities, and in some areas it’s burning just 100 to 250 metres from the western banks of Okanagan Lake.

The wildfire service has boosted the number of wildland firefighters battling the blaze to 155, up from 126 on Saturday, with some remaining on-site overnight.

Kamloops has rescinded an evacuation alert for several neighbourhoods on the city’s outskirts, saying the fire no longer poses an imminent risk to residents’ safety, but emergency officials could reinstate an alert or order if conditions change.

A map from the Thompson-Nicola Regional District shows orders and alerts stretching from the intersection of the Trans-Canada Highway and now-closed Highway 97 east of Kamloops to Chase in the north and Armstrong in the east.

Seventy-one evacuation orders in response to wildfires covered more than 6,900 properties across B.C. as of the province’s last update, an increase of more than 1,200, while residents of 35,700 properties must be ready to leave on short notice.

About 280 wildfires are currently burning across B.C. out of a total 1,432 fires sparked since April 1, scorching close to 6,400 square kilometres. Thirty-one active blazes are considered either highly visible or pose a potential threat to public safety.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 8, 2021.

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Weather stalls significant growth at White Rock Lake fire: BC Wildfire Service

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