Crews tame wildfires in southeastern B.C. as rain dampens flames — but warm, dry conditions forecast to return

Wildfire crews in British Columbia have tamed a pair of wildfires in the province's Cariboo region, but continue to grapple with stubborn blazes burning out of control elsewhere.

The B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) says firefighters aided by heavy equipment and aerial support have tamed the Branch Road wildfire, which is now considered "being held" at under 14 square kilometres.

The service also says it doesn't expect the Townsend Creek wildfire, about 20 kilometres southwest of Quesnel, to grow further, and it's being held at about 27 square kilometres. 

The fire spurred an evacuation alert on July 8 that remains in place.

However, the Cariboo Regional District issued a new evacuation alert on Tuesday covering a 320-square-kilometre area due to the Anahim Peak fire, northwest of Williams Lake, B.C.

The alert concerns 30 parcels of land, but the regional district did not specify how many residents were affected.

It follows earlier evacuation orders in the area by both the regional district and the Ulkatcho First Nation.

Rain aided fire suppression efforts

The number of active wildfires in B.C. has dipped to about 400 as cooler weather and recent rain cut the fire risk in many areas. However, another hot spell could wipe out those gains as large sections of the province wilt under severe drought.

The BCWS website shows only small pockets of extreme wildfire risk, mainly in southeastern B.C., where almost no rain fell earlier this week.

Three of B.C.'s 21 wildfires of note are also located in southeastern B.C., including the suspected lightning-caused fire that broke out Monday west of Invermere, which has charred just under 10 square kilometres of mountainous terrain, forcing evacuations and alerts covering more than 1,000 properties, including a ski resort. 

The BCWS says winds that fanned the flames Tuesday are expected to ease on Wednesday.

Tuesday's strong winds in the southeast also forced evacuation orders for a handful of properties including the Nipika Mountain Resort, as an almost three-week-old, nearly 11-square-kilometre wildfire flared just east of Invermere.

Structure protection specialists have been assigned to that area while a heavy equipment crew is working to build guards around the properties.

The Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness says more than 1,000 properties are under evacuation order across B.C., while more than 4,000 others are under evacuation alert, meaning residents must be ready to leave on very short notice.

Of the 1,493 fires recorded in B.C. since the start of this fire season, the wildfire service says just over 1,000 have been caused by lightning. Human activity is linked to 367 others and the cause of 88 is undetermined.

In the 10 days before Tuesday, there were 75,000 lightning strikes across B.C., BCWS estimates.

Officials watching heat in forecast

BCWS fire information officer Mike McCulley said rain on Monday evening offered a "reprieve" for crews in much of the province, but warm weather is forecast to return.

"We will be back into some very intense and dire wildfire conditions and extreme fire behaviour in the southeast part of the province especially, as they received virtually no precipitation through the last few days," he said in an interview Wednesday.

International crews from Brazil, Mexico, Australia and the United States have all been helping relieve local crews and sharing expert knowledge in this record fire season, he said.

"We are only halfway through our normal fire season and we've had a heck of a year already so far," said McCulley.