A change in weather conditions allowed the BC Wildfire Service to deploy some of their water bombers on the Old Man Lake fire near Sooke earlier this week. The only wildfire currently active on Vancouver Island is marked as 'being held' as of Tuesday, July 30. (BC Wildfire Service)

By Jordan Davidson

wildfire season

Sooke wildfire ‘being held’ as more warm weather anticipated for Vancouver Island

Jul 30, 2024 | 4:01 PM

NANAIMO — While it’s still 230 hectares in size, the Old Man Lake fire burning near Sooke in Potholes Regional Park is now listed as ‘being held.’

Extensive firefighter efforts combined with cooler temperatures helped slow down growth after the fire expanded from 50 hectares in only a matter of days.

Director of provincial operations for BC Wildfire Cliff Chapman said the shifting winds allowed for more visibility in the area over the weekend, allowing more amphibious aircraft to be used.

“Our aircraft that can scoop water and water was close to that fire, so we were able to really utilize them, but as importantly we were able to send our parattack smoke jumpers… they jumped on that fire to really secure that one edge that we were most concerned with growth.”

Chapman said while the fire is still burning, they don’t anticipate it to grow.

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The fire has not caused any losses of structures.

“There’s still fire, they’re still going to see smoke in that area, but it is based on our people on the ground and the work that we’ve put in to respond to that fire, we do not anticipate that fire going any further beyond the control lines that we have built and/or identified, which can be natural features like water features.”

He said they will now start to work on fully extinguishing the fire by gradually moving in from the control lines, saying it’s a “lot of hard, ground work”, but the resources are available to get it done.

An update on the provincial wildfire situation was given by the province on Tuesday, July 30, led by minister of emergency management and climate readiness Bowinn Ma.

She said while cooler weather province-wide has helped, B.C. can still expect more hot and dry conditions before the summer ends.

“As we know the wildfire situation can change quickly, and we may see more fires as temperatures warm up again in the coming days. There is no better time than now to prepare.”

She encourages all residents to go to PreparedBC.ca/emergencyready to make sure they’re ready to evacuate.

Environment Canada is predicting more warm and dry weather will settle over the province by Thursday

As of Tuesday morning, there were 349 wildfires burning in the province, with six of those of note, mostly located in the Central-Kootenay regions of the provincial interior.

An existing fire danger rating of low for most of Vancouver Island is expected to be elevated in the coming days.

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jordan@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @JordanDHeyNow