The Shetland Creek wildfire is "waking back up again" according to Deputy Incident Commander Dimitri Vaisius of the BC Wildfire Service (BCWS), which has prompted new evacuation orders and alerts to the west and south of Spences Bridge, and an Area Restriction Order covering the entirety of the fire's area.
As of Saturday (Aug. 3) the fire was estimated to be 24,063.8 hectares, and Vaisius said that favourable weather conditions earlier in the week meant that firefighters were able to have some success. "People got pretty used to seeing less fire activity, especially from Highway 1, so it appeared that there was a big downturn, it appeared that things were going well.
"That's still the case along the east side, but I really want to emphasize that we have a lot of summer ahead of us. This fire is waking back up right now. It's going to get active in the coming days. We're starting to see that activity and there's still a lot of work to be done on the west/southwest corner and up the western side of this fire."
The Area Restriction Order 鈥� which includes the entire fire area and a buffer zone 鈥� will be in place until Aug. 13, 2024 or until it is rescinded, and reflects the need to protect public and BCWS personnel safety in areas where fire suppression activities are taking place. The order means that a person must not remain in, or enter, the restricted area unless the person is acting in an official capacity or supporting wildfire suppression activities; is travelling to or from their principal residence, or a secondary residence or recreational property, that is not under an evacuation order; engaging/participating in agricultural activities; or using a highway as defined in the Highway Act.
A map of the area covered by the restriction order can be found at .
On Aug. 1, Lytton First Nation (LFN) issued an evacuation order for IR #15 (Botanie Lake) and IR #1 (Pasulko Lake). On Aug. 3, the Thompson-Nicola Regional District (TNRD) issued an evacuation alert for 54 properties in and along Botanie Valley in Area "I" south of the two LFN reserves and directly north of the Village of Lytton.
The areas of most concern are the southwest flank around the Murray Creek area and the southeastern flank near Spences Bridge and the Twaal Valley.
On Aug. 2, fire behaviour increased significantly on the southwestern flank of the fire in some of the Murray Creek drainages. The increase in fire activity challenged crews and equipment, which were pulled back for safety reasons. The fire in that area was exhibiting Rank 4 behaviour (an organized surface flame front with moderate to fast rates of spread on the ground, grey-to-black smoke, and the potential for short-range spotting).
High-elevation flare-ups were observed on the southeastern flank of the fire in the vicinity of Spences Bridge, with the flare-ups generally burning upslope in unburned pockets of fuel at higher elevations. Helicopters were bucketing hotspots at the fire's eastern edge as crews worked to finalize containment and mop-up efforts on that flank of the fire.
Containment efforts are being prioritized, with the construction of more fire guards, as well as bucketing operations to assist in checking the advance of the fire.
At the north end of the fire near Ashcroft, crews are monitoring unburnt fuels along Oregon Jack Road and continuing to assess and fell danger trees along the road. Hose lines, bladders, and sprinklers were being set up along an existing machine guard from Three Sisters to Blue Earth Lake, and crews were continuing to do reconnaissance for potential areas where a direct attack might be possible.
Highway 1 remains open from Spences Bridge to Ashcroft, and crews are patrolling the highway and doing mop-up along the corridor. This will continue until no further hotspots are found in proximity to the containment line.
Winds gusting from the north are expected by mid-day on Sunday (Aug. 4), changing to gusty northerlies through Monday. There is a possibility of thundershowers and the chance of light rain.
As of Aug. 3 there were 214 firefighters and support personnel responding to the Shetland Creek wildfire, as well as 21 structure protection personnel. Sixteen helicopters and 36 pieces of heavy equipment have been assigned to the incident.
The fire was discovered on July 12, and BCWS says the probable cause was lightning. On the evening of July 17 the fire grew from 295 hectares to 5,000 hectares and swept through Venables Valley west of Highway 1. Some 80 residents of Saranagati Village were evacuated, and 20 structures 鈥� including six primary residences 鈥� have been lost. The TNRD has hired a recovery manager, who is working with residents as they face the process of clean-up and rebuilding.
For more information about the Shetland Creek wildfire, including the Area Restriction Order, visit the . For information about highway conditions and closures, go to .
Information about the Lytton First Nation evacuation order can be found , while information about evacuation orders and alerts issued by the TNRD can be found at .
