Update 5: Hook creek is now classified as being held.
Update 4: Or four…
Update 3: Make that three new fires….
Update 2: While the fire is now considered “out of control” for purposes of the BC Wildfire database, it is basically out, helped by yesterday’s rain. That’s the good news. The bad news is the rain brought lightning, and the lightning brought two new fires, both in the Gwillim Lake area.
Update: Went out and took another image of the fire; note that it looks more impressive in the photo than in real life, but it is most definitely still burning. The fire is now listed on the BC Wildfire Database, but no estimated size or cause yet. If the location is accurate, it is about half a km from the nearest road, meaning it was most likely started by lightning, though that is not confirmed at this time. The fire is about 6 km from town, on the other side of the Murray River.
A seventh fire in the Tumbler Ridge area was discovered on August 8, bringing the total number of active fires to seven.
This one is far south of town, down near Wapiti Lake, but has quickly grown to 8 ha. It is listed as out of control.
The recent spate of fires seem to have been started by a dramatic storm that blew through the area last week.
But it’s not all bad news. The storm also seems to have helped put out a fire in the mountains above the Wolverine River—visible from town—which was being worked on by the Tumbler Ridge Fire Department, the BC Wildfire Service and Mother Nature.
While it is now listed as being held on the BC Wildfire map, it is effectively out. Fire Chief Dustin Curry says that is the usual progression for these things: New to out of control, then being held and under control. “When I last spoke with wildfire service, they felt confidant in the suppression activities executed yesterday,” he says. “I have no doubt that they will be monitoring it in the coming days.”
The fire was estimated to be about .7 ha.
“A Crew of six firefighters, including parattack and initial attack are on the scene,” said BC wildfire when the fire was discovered on August 4. A helicopter also assisted, and, while a tanker was a potential option, it was never needed.
Now a blackened patch of forest is still visible—if only just—from town.
Firefighters were assisted in their work by a storm that blew through the area, dumping rain on the fire. Still, the potential for new fires is high, says Curry. “Even with the rainfall we received, conditions in the back country are still extremely dry,” he says. “Residents and visitors are urged to use extreme caution when adventuring in any of the forested areas around the district in Tumbler Ridge and I reminded that burning restrictions including account fire ban are still in effect for our area.”
That point is emphasized by the fact that at least three new fires were started in addition to the one by Wapiti Lake, most likely by lightning, which at the peak of the storm saw dozens of strikes a minute. Two of the fires are found east of Gwillim Lake, while the third is in Bearhole Provincial Park. All three of the fires are small (less than .01 ha) and not growing very quickly. Indeed, one fo the fires near Gwillim has already been declared out, while the second is listed as under control. Only the Bearhole fire is considered out of control.
The new fires bring the total number of fires in the Tumbler Ridge area this year to 13, seven of which are still considered active, including the Hook Creek fire (which is currently not putting off any smoke or flames and is now listed as being held) and the Wolverine Fire, which will be considered active for at least the next few days as crews monitor it for any flare ups.
The remaining fires include a 10 ha fire (which appears to have gone out naturally) out by Boulder Lake, and, of course, the Tentfire Creek Fire, which is now listed at 2,800 ha, mostly due to the recent planned ignition. Crews continue to burn off fuel in small batches to try and starve the fire, which is not highly active today, after about 10 mm of rain fell yesterday.
That fire is the largest in the area. While prevailing winds are pushing it towards Tumbler Ridge, it is still approximately 17 kilometres away from the town site.
BC Wildfire crews have been working to build a guard around a small spot fire—approximately 2 ha large— which has gotten away from the existing guard.
As they do that, a flight of four helicopters are working to cool down hot spots near the edge of the fire. A new contingency guard is almost completed from Mast Road at kilometre 8 to a gas plant two kilometers away.
The fire has moved to within about 1 km from the pits atop Quintette mine, which would prevent the fire from growing northwest if the wind were to blow it that way, though the prevailing winds are pushing the fire past the mine site.
Trent is the publisher of Tumbler RidgeLines.
