120 wildfires in Southeast Fire Centre, RDCK continues to closely monitor
By Regional District of Central Kootenay
The Regional District of Central Kootenay (RDCK) is continuing to monitor the McArthur Creek wildfire southeast of Salmo, as well as other existing wildfires in the region. In addition, the RDCK is assessing new wildfires to ensure that people and property are protected.
“We know from the BC Wildfire Service that there 160-plus fires currently burning in the Southeast Fire Centre — with new fires cropping up every day — so we continue to monitor and assess the situation here in the RDCK,” said Andrew Bellerby, Director of the RDCK Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) and Regional Fire Chief in a media release Monday.
“We are seeing a bit of a break in the weather right now, but the hot, dry conditions will return by the middle of the week. The best thing that people can do is be prepared and stay informed.”
Below are notes on some fires of interest in the region:
- McArthur Creek (N51557) is approximately 120 hectares and is being given modified response by BC Wildfire. An Evacuation Order remains in place for the Sheep Creek Road area, southeast of Salmo. Additional Structure Protection Units (SPUs) and crews have been deployed to help protect structures, along with crews from a number of RDCK volunteer fire departments. The Sheep Creek Road at the Aspen FSR junction remains closed, with no public access permitted on further sections of road.
- Blazed Creek (N72301) has seen significant growth over the past few days, although no communities are currently threatened and Highway 3 has reopened. There will be a large amount of smoke in the Creston Valley as a result of this and other fires.
- A grouping of four fires north of Nakusp (at Turner Creek and MacLeod Creek) are being actively responded to by BC Wildfire.
- Greyhorse Ridge (N72589) was a new fire discovered on Saturday, August 12, near Meadow Creek north of Lardeau. BC Wildfire declared the fire out this morning.
- Randal Creek (N72436) (known as the Davis Fire in the US) is burning on both sides of the Canada-US border southeast of Yahk. An Evacuation Alert is affecting one residential property in the Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK) southeast of Yahk. Visit the RDEK website for more information.
The RDCK is monitoring all fires in the region and responding where required. For information about specific fires, please visit the BC Wildfire Service interactive map.
“We will continue to monitor these fires and consult with other agencies on a daily basis as the week goes on,” said Chief Bellerby. “If these or any other fires threaten life or property in the RDCK, we will advise the public.”
Updates will be provided via the RDCK website, Facebook and Twitter as more information becomes available.
For more information:
- Current RDCK Evacuation Alerts, Orders and Rescinds: https://rdck.ca/EN/main/services/emergency-management/evacuation-order-and-alert-page.html or call 250-352-7701 / 1-866-522-7701.
- Sign up for RDCK Emergency Notification System to receive notification of Evacuation Orders. Go to www.rdck.ca and select “Emergency Alerts” from the home page, or go to the notification system sign-up page at https://rdckemergency.connectrocket.com.
- BC Wildfire – Interactive Map of Current Fires: http://governmentofbc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=ef6f11c8c36b42c29e103f65dbcd7538
- Public weather alerts for BC from Environment Canada: https://weather.gc.ca/warnings/index_e.html?prov=bc
- Highway closures and conditions from DriveBC: http://www.drivebc.ca/
- For the BC Air Quality Health Index: http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/epd/bcairquality/readings/aqhi-table.xml
- For tips about living with smoky skies and wildfires from the Interior Health Authority: https://www.interiorhealth.ca/YourEnvironment/Emergency/MajorEvents/Pages/default.aspx
- Emergency preparedness information and tips from the Prepared BC website: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/emergency-preparedness-response-recovery/preparedbc
