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Fire being actioned in Verdant Creek area
Those driving through Kootenay National Park on Highway 93 will be aware of a new wildfire that is being reported by the BC Wildfire Service (BCWS).
Although the BC Wildfire Service is responding to a number of lightning-caused wildfires visible to surrounding communities and highways, none of these wildfires are immediately threatening communities or structures.
These wildfires include the following:
A number of fires are burning in Kootenay and Glacier National Parks. Two fires located in Glacier National Park are visible from the TransCanada Highway and one fire in Kootenay National Park in the Verdant Creek area is visible east of Highway 93. These fires are being managed by the Glacier and Kootenay National Park Fire Management crews.
Two wildfires are burning five kilometres and 11 kilometres northeast of Galena Bay. These wildfires are one hectare or less, are burning at high elevation, and are not threatening highway infrastructure; however, they are visible from Highway 31 and Galena Bay.
Two small wildfires about one hectare in size, one located about 10 kilometres west of Kaslo on Mount Carlyle, and another burning northwest of Kootenay Lake on Windsor Peak, are also burning at high elevation and are not threatening communities or structures.
The BCWS is expecting smoke from the Kamloops and Cariboo Fire Centres to drift into the region by tomorrow and is expected to continue moving through this region, so long as the prevailing winds come from the west and northwest.
In the past week, Southeast Fire Centre personnel have responded to 52 wildfires that have burned 34 hectares. Since April 1, 2017, the Southeast Fire Centre has responded to 112 wildfires to date burning 117 hectares. Seventy-seven of these fires were lightning caused while the remaining were human caused and therefore preventable.
The fire danger rating in the majority of the Southeast Fire Centre is currently “high,” with areas of “extreme” fire danger.
The Southeast Fire Centre extends from the U.S. border in the south to the Mica Dam in the north and from the Okanagan Highlands and Monashee Mountains in the west to the B.C.-Alberta border in the east. This includes the Selkirk Natural Resource District and the Rocky Mountain Natural Resource District.
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