Adams West — small fire, big trouble

NEWS/ WILDFIRES — The Adams West wildfire may be small compared to some of the monsters burning elsewhere in the province, but it’s causing problems out of proportion to its size.

At just 30 hectares as of late Tuesday night, the fire southeast of Clearwater has nonetheless resulted in an evacuation alert for six properties on Adams River. The Thompson-Nicola Regional District issued the alert late Tuesday afternoon.

An evacuation alert is different from an evacuation order in that residents are told to be prepared to evacuate on short notice rather than being ordered out of their homes immediately.

Discovered on Monday, the lightning-caused blaze is zero-percent contained because air tankers were unable to get at it due to limited visibility.

Fifty new fires were sparked within the Kamloops Fire Centre during weekend lightning activity. The one of greatest concern is the Westside Road fire west of Okanagan Lake near Kelowna, estimated at 430 hectares and zero percent contained.

The fire has grown significantly since yesterday due challenging weather conditions. Seventy properties have been ordered evacuated but not homes have been lost so far.

While fire activity experienced a slight reprieve later in the day Tuesday, a shift in winds pushed fire activity downslope in the early evening.

More than nine aircraft supported ground crews, including airtankers, skimmer aircraft and helicopters. Air tankers applied retardant along the southern and northern flanks of the fire to slow the rate of spread.

One 20-person sustained action crew was on site, working mainly along the south flank of the fire to reinforce retardant lines, and establish hand and machine guard. Other resources included one piece of heavy equipment, and three water tenders.

The Coldstream Creek fire is burning 15 kilometres southeast of Ashcroft, north of Highway 97C. This fire is about 250 hectares in size and is zero per cent contained. Forty firefighters and 13 pieces of heavy equipment are working to contain this fire and airtankers are being used as needed.

The Thompson-Nicola Regional District has issued an evacuation alert for 28 properties in the area.

The Bolean Lake wildfire five kilometres northwest of Falkland is being challenged by 32 firefighters supported by heavy machinery and a helicopter. An evacuation alert there affects 24 properties.

An evacuation order has also been issued for the Bolean Lake Resort.