The wildfire situation in the North Shuswap has taken a dramatic turn after the Lower East Adams Lake and Bush Creek East wildfires merged late Saturday night.
The BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) says the fire, which will be referred to as the Bush Creek East wildfire, is now estimated to be 41,041 hectares.
Unfortunately, thick and heavy smoke is skewing the mapping on the fire.
According to the BCWS, the latest perimeter map was not obtained through geographic mapping but rather through thermal scanning, which can be skewed by radiant heat.
“Once visibility improves, an accurate perimeter will be mapped and the perimeter will be updated on the BC Wildfire Service map. Do not rely on this perimeter to determine structural impacts,” says the BCWS.
UPDATE: The Lower East Adams Lake (previously K21620) and the Bush Creek East (K21633) wildfires have merged and will be referred to as the Bush Creek East (K21633) fire going forward. https://t.co/GcUhUNGQh1
— BC Wildfire Service (@BCGovFireInfo) August 20, 2023
The fire is causing hazardous conditions for both firefighters and people living in the area.
Late Friday night, the Bush Creek East wildfire jumped Highway 1 between Chase and Sorrento.
As of 3:15 pm on Saturday, the highway between Shuswap Avenue in Sorrento and Passchendaele Road in Chase remained closed. The next update is expected at 4 pm on Sunday.
On Saturday, the province enacted new orders under the provincial state of emergency.
Under the order non-essential travel is banned from wildfire effected areas including the Shuswap, Okanagan and Kamloops regions
Hundreds of properties have been ordered to leave throughout the Shuswap region.
The latest information is available through the Columbia Shuswap and Thompson-Nicola regional district websites.
According to the BCWS, the fire has progressed to the lake north of Highway 1 in the Little Shuswap Lake area and there are potential structural impacts.
Just before 10 pm on Saturday, the agency said a unit crew is working on building a guard from the western structures.
As for the Lee Creek area, the fire remains upslope from homes and there is a structure protection strike team engaged in defence operations.
“In all other areas, the planned ignition that occurred on the Aug. 17 has held the fire north of the powerlines, west of the Lee Creek drainage, and north of structures in the community of Lee Creek,” the BCWS says.
As for the Scotch Creek area, where the fire moved into on Saturday, no confirmation has been provided at this time how many structures were damaged.
Structure protection personnel are actively engaged in structure defence and mop-up around structures in Scotch Creek, says the BCWS.
Tragically, the fire remains active in Celista to the north. Structure protection personnel are actively engaged in structure defence on Meadow Creek Road and Evans Road.
End of day update August 19, 2023
— Columbia Shuswap Regional District (@ColShuRegDist) August 20, 2023
The Columbia Shuswap Regional District would like to give a massive thank you to the firefighters and volunteers working tirelessly throughout this difficult time. https://t.co/8P3UMUZfQ1#CSRD #SEP #CSRDStrong pic.twitter.com/9jDYLvNQKn
South of Highway 1, in Sorrento, the local fire department has been engaged for more than 24 hours (as of 9:45 pm) as the wildfire became an interface fire in the community.
“Wildland firefighters are working to slow progression of the fire toward other structures in the wildland-urban interface,” the BCWS says.
“There are (initial attack) crews and a task force of water tenders supporting. A night shift IA crew will stay onsite overnight”
Unfortunately, the situation remains volatile and hazardous across this massive wildfire.
The BCWS says crew safety is the number one priority in the response and due to downed power lines and the ongoing wildland-urban situation is proving to be a severe challenge for crews.
“Wildland firefighters do not have the training or personal protective equipment to work safely around these hazards. Structure protection crews are mopping up around structures,” says the BCWS.
“Wildland firefighting crews are focused on slowing fire growth toward structures in areas where the fire continues to progress actively through timber and grassland.”
