BURSTBC Wildfire Service marked a national milestone in its response to the Brunswick Complex fires in the Fraser Canyon last weekend.
In a video update on Monday (July 20), BCWS said crews used a drone to complete an ignition operation for the first time in Canada.
Crews completed an ignition on Sunday (July 19) across the river from Boston Bar. BCWS called it a “critical step” in securing the east flank of the Brunswick Creek blaze across from Boston Bar.
BCWS expects it will reduce the risk of the fire growing to the south or spotting across the Fraser River.
Operations section chief Arlen Kanary said drones were used as part of the ignition plan. It allowed the team to see through the smoke and see exactly where the ignition was happening.
“Typically during this type of fire response we use helicopters to drop PSDs, which ignite once they hit the ground. We had the opportunity to trial a drone, which would be the first time in Canada that we’ve utilized this type of innovation. I’ve been working for BC Wildfire for the majority of my life, and seeing the new technology of the drones being able to eliminate some of the risk and hazards was very impressive,” Kanary said.
Both the Ainslie Creek and Brunswick Creek fires remain out of control on Tuesday (July 21), with a combined size of over 20,000 hectares.
According to the latest update from BCWS, fire behaviour was kept elevated through the night at Brunswick Creek due to low overnight humidity. Meanwhile, fire behaviour remained low across the Ainslie Creek blaze on Monday.
BCWS expects winds to shift back to southwesterly by this afternoon.
“With temperatures forecast to reach the low 30s and humidity continuing to drop, even light winds are enough to increase fire activity and change fire behaviour rapidly, particularly in unburnt areas within the fire perimeter and in sections where challenging terrain has limited suppression options,” the update reads.
At Brunswick Creek, BCWS said the winds are unlikely to cause a “notable increase” in fire behaviour on the north flank due to suppression efforts.
“The shift from northerly to southerly winds will also help slow fire spread in the Scuzzy Creek drainage, pushing the perimeter north and back into the already-burned area. That said, wind mainly drives upslope growth. Downslope growth is driven by available fuel and rolling burning debris, which can ignite fuel below as it travels. So even with favourable winds, the fire is likely to continue growing to the south,” the update reads.
At Ainslie Creek, aircraft will be “heavily engaged” in bucking operations with the potential uptick of activity on Tuesday.
The Brunswick Creek fire was discovered on July 2 and created three “spot fires” in the following days during a period of extreme fire activity and strong winds, including the Ainslie Creek blaze .
BC Wildfire Service has responded to the fires with an incident management team and 24-hour operations that include ground crews, structure protection personnel and helicopters.
Incident commander Jeff Walsh said on Monday that a new incident management team transitioned in on July 17, replacing the outgoing team.
“Priorities haven’t changed over the last week. We continue to focus in the Fraser Canyon, making sure that the residents impacted by the evacuation orders are protected, and working as hard as we can to make sure we can get those folks back to home as quickly as possible,” Walsh said.
He said the response is driven by ensuring resources are in the best location to protect the highest values.
“We are facing some challenging terrain and some challenging weather, and continuously reassess that for the safety of our operations,” Walsh said.
Walsh said the current strategies and tactics seem to be working.
“Where we’re engaged, we’re being quite effective – given the time of year that there’s lots of summer left and lots of fire season left. We are seeing increasing temperatures, lowering relative humidities and anticipated increasing fire behaviour. So we’re just positioning ourselves and making sure that we have continued success throughout the rest of the fire season,” Walsh said.
A total of 450 properties in the Fraser Valley Regional District were under evacuation orders as of Tuesday (July 21).
Evacuation orders are in place for properties in the Boston Bar, Nahatlatch, North Boothroyd, North Bend, Canyon Alpine, and Fishblue Lake areas. Boston Bar First Nation and Boothroyd Indian Band have also issued evacuation orders.