BURSTRain over the weekend helped keep the Bald Range wildfire at bay over the weekend, but as temperatures rise, fire activity could as well.
In its latest update from Sunday night, BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) said that despite gusty winds, rain from the weekend’s thunderstorm kept fire activity low on Aug. 23, along with lower temperatures and higher relative humidity. The northern part of the blaze received 6-7 mm of rain over the weekend, while the southern part experienced minimal rain.
The fire displayed Rank 1 and 2 fire behaviour on Sunday; however, BCWS is expecting fire activity to increase as temperatures rise again, particularly in the south and west portions of the blaze.
As of Monday morning, eight evacuation orders and 13 evacuation alerts remain in place.
On Sunday, the Brent Mountain Protected Area was the priority for BCWS and its suppression efforts on the south flank of the fire.
“We are building a contingency line south of Isintok Lake and west of Brent Mountain as a precautionary measure, should fire activity challenge our primary control lines,” said BCWS.
Also at that end, crews are continuing to establish hoselay and conduct mop up moving east to west.
“We are building a contingency line south of Isintok Lake and west of Brent Mountain as a precautionary measure, should fire activity challenge our primary control lines,” said BCWS.
At the north end of the fire, BCWS, with the help of the rain, is close to completing mop-up and patrols in the area.
“We are maintaining 24-hour operations with ground crews conducting direct attack, mop up to strengthen control lines and supporting heavy equipment guard construction at night,” added BCWS. “Thermal scans are being conducted at night to provide crews with locations of heat to target.”
Supported by helicopters and heavy equipment, ground crews were able to work closer on the western flank, where the blaze is most active.
As of Monday morning, BCWS has an Incident Command team, 372 firefighting personnel, 38 structure protection personnel, 79 pieces of heavy equipment, and 15 helicopters on scene.
The Bald Range wildfire is currently one of four wildfires of note and one of 184 active wildfires in the province.
Black Press Media will update the situation throughout the day.