The B.C. premier visited Oliver, where two fires were burning, and a community centre being used by Rock Creek evacuees in Midway. The Forest Service, which operates under the Department of Agriculture, put out the warning, but other agencies said they feel the pinch, too. “The Forestry Ministry does an incredible job of investigating these things, figuring out right down to last match where these fires originated”. The Rock Creek fire is believed to be human-caused. “We do reach out to internal employees, as a lot of those people do maintain some fire qualifications”.
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Kerstin Klenheimer and her husband deserted their house when the 37-square-kilometre fire broke out Thursday. On Sunday she stood next to a charred piece of property on the side of a highway and stared into the distance at the fire burning near her house. “There was no time”.
“Everything that can be done is getting done, so you just have to let it happen”, she said with a sigh.
Wildfire suppression is just one of many duties for the Bureau of Land Management, but it’s not uncommon for nonfirefighter employees to undergo fire training in case extra personnel are needed, according to Randy Eardley, the bureau’s deputy chief for external affairs. He asked for anyone with video or other evidence of careless smoking or hazardous activity to contact their local police or the B.C. Wildfire Service (1-800-663-5555 or *5555 on mobile). But that situation could change, he warned.
The aggressive blaze forced campers at the Kettle River Provincial Park to rush out on foot last week, leaving almost everything behind, including vehicles and trailers. Currently, the regional district plans to escort people in small groups the park, and they hope to start that process sometime on Sunday after BC Wildfire Service has finished its danger tree assessment.
Skrepnek said temperatures dropped into the mid-20s in many areas on Saturday and that the thunderstorms that sparked numerous fires also brought rain.
Near Rock Creek, the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary completed an assessment of damage in the area and has confirmed that 29 homes and additional structures have been lost. The B.C. government’s own statistics show that, over the decade from 2004 to 2013, 38.5 per cent of wildfires were caused by people and another 61.5 per cent by lightning. But on a hill outside John Day, crews said the best way to save one home was to fight fire with fire.
South Complex: Five fires totalling 20,978 acres in Trinity County near Hyampom, south of Highway 299, 35 percent contained.
“It really does hamper our efforts when people are in the way. We have nothing. We have basically the clothes on our back and some pictures and our computers”.
Oliver is about 40 kilometres northwest of Rock Creek, where hundreds of homes were evacuated Thursday.
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On Sunday, air support had to stop their operations because of a drone flying overhead the fire. The cause of these fires has not been determined. Air tankers, seven helicopters, and 80 firefighters continue to work towards full containment, and an evacuation order remains in effect for about 100 homes.
