Local wildfires smaller than previously estimated, teams still assigned

The two wildfires burning the North Okanagan and Shuswap have new size estimates.

The B.C. Wildfire Service listed the Sitkum Creek wildfire, located near Sugar Lake northeast of Lumby and Cherryville, as being 1,261.9 hectares in size as of Friday, August 2. The Mara Mountain wildfire east of Sicamous was also listed as 281.4 hectares.

Those sizes were down from the previous estimates of 1,993 and 290 hectares, respectively.

“When we’ve got either ground crews or air resources that are trying to do a track of a fire, we’ve got a helicopter that’s doing that track and if the visibility isn’t great or it’s quite smoky, it can blur that anticipated perimeter of the fire,” Olive Norris-Leite, a fire information officer with the B.C. Wildfire Service, told Vernon Matters.

“So once the visibility clears up, or any number of factors with the weather or that fire behaviour on site, then we’re just able to go in and get a much more accurate fire perimeter.”

While the fire sizes were downgraded, the BCWS did re-list the Sitkum Creek blaze as being a “Wildfire of Note” Friday.

“The terminology of Wildfire of Note is used as a tool from the information team with the B.C. Wildfire Service all across the province,” Norris-Leite explained.

“It’s just a label to aid us in conveying messaging out to the public, and highlighting those incidents that we’ve got throughout our fire centre.”

She noted the designation did not mean it posed any more risk than it previously had, not did it necessarily mean that more resources would be needed to combat the blaze.

As of Friday morning, a team of 30 wildland firefighters, with assistance from one bucketing helicopter and a machine guard, were assigned to the western flank of the Sitkum Creek wildfire.

The BCWS had deployed more resources to the Mara Mountain wildfire, with 28 personnel assigned to that fire with the goal of establishing an access route for heavy machinery to the northern flank of the blaze as of Friday.

Both fires remained classified as Out of Control.

With hot, dry weather in the forecast for the long weekend, Norris-Leite recommended people spend some time FireSmarting their homes properties, and being cautious of their activities when recreating outdoors.

The fire information officer also noted that fire bans remain in place, and asked anyone who sees a wildfire or witnesses someone in contravention to the ban, to report the sighting to the BCWS by calling 1-800-663-555 or by dialing *5555 o a cell phone. She also encouraged people download the B.C. Wildfire Service App and using it to submit fire reports as well as photographs.