Fire sparked by RCMP trailer near Lytton is being held, says B.C. Wildfire Service
Wildfire service credits 'significant efforts' of firefighters, favourable weather for taming flames
A wildfire near Lytton, B.C., that ignited when a wheel fell off an RCMP trailer is now classified as being held and is no longer likely to spread.
The B.C. Wildfire Service says the change is due to the "significant efforts" of firefighters with the help of favourable weather, and that the Izman Creek blaze will no longer be considered a wildfire of note.
Once the wildfire loses that classification — which indicates a fire is generating particular interest, is highly visible or is a threat to public safety — there will be no wildfires of note in B.C.
The wildfire north of Lytton was sparked on July 1 by the RCMP trailer failure in what Mounties have said was an unfortunate incident, a day after the fourth anniversary of a fire that destroyed most of the village.
It resulted in an evacuation order for three properties and an alert for 12 others. Both had been rescinded by the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, as of 3:30 p.m. PT on Wednesday.
The wildfire service says staff will remain on site at the wildfire, which is listed as about 240 hectares in size as of Wednesday morning, to continue mop-up and to patrol the area to ensure it remains secure.
The Izman Creek blaze is one of about 70 active fires across the province, about 20 per cent of which are classified as burning out of control.
The latest B.C. Wildfire Service situation report says high winds were expected to continue across the province Wednesday, mainly in the northeast and southeast regions.
"These winds will increase fire behaviour, dry out fuels and could allow new wildfires to spread easily," the report says.
It says some thundershowers are expected in the North Peace and southern Interior regions, adding that new lightning-caused wildfires are expected in areas that have had minimal rainfall.
The wildfire service says about 80 per cent of the active fires are lightning-caused, while about 15 per cent are human-caused. The rest are undetermined.
The service says temperatures are below seasonal but are expected to be warmer and drier on Thursday and Friday.
The B.C. Wildfire Service said in a post to Facebook that it has also deployed air tankers to help wildfire suppression efforts on a blaze in Washington state, south of Highway 3, between Christina Lake and Trail, B.C.
"At this time, there is no threat to the Canada-U.S. border," the post says.