Fire extinguishing smoke, ashes
Photo: Tulameen & District Fire Department
Photo taken at 13 km of the Lodestone Forest Service Road, looking towards Dear Mountain on Friday night.
UPDATE: 5:35 p.m
BC Wildfire Service had several helicopters respond to the Champion Creek wildfire on Saturday, which is 31 kilometers west of Princeton.
“There’s still some kind of thick smoke in the area. So a lot of people could be seeing smoke in the area, both from this fire and the fires just south of the border in the U.S., as well as those that have been reported ash in the area. So just for everyone’s awareness, this is mostly from fires in the US,” said Fire Information Officer Shaelee Stearns.
“The fire has burned up to the top of a ridge line and just burned the area below that. We’re seeing primarily the first and second range. [fire behaviour] also, with some pockets of similar threes where the wind and the slope kind of line there just to increase the fire activity a little bit.”
Wildfires in BC are rated on a scale of one to six, with six being the worst.
Stearns said no ground crews have been called in to fight the wildfire today.
“When we look at resources, we rely on certain resources as certain priorities, and this one in [terms of] wood values, it’s manageable right now for a helicopter safely.”
The fire is still estimated at 11 hectares in size and is classified as out of control.
ORIGINAL: 10:48 am
The Champion Creek wildfire burning 31 kilometers west of Princeton is now estimated at 111 hectares.
BC Wildfire Service said the wildfire may be visible from Highway 5 and the community of Tulameen.
The fire was discovered Friday afternoon and is burning in rough terrain away from homes at this time.
“We have personnel that will be going out to assess and plan how we’re going to implement fire tactics,” said Melanie Bibeau, fire information officer. “We’ll also have a helicopter coming back today.”
The Tulameen and District Fire Department shared that its firefighters have been informing residents and investigating the location of the Champion Creek fire.
Firefighters are asking the community to be vigilant and stay safe.