News

Objectives: The Shovel Lake fire situation has remained fairly static over the last few days with internal fire activity not causing growth beyond the existing perimeter. The most activity over the past few days has occurred on the northeast by the Bud Road, on the southeast corner, and in the north between Hannay Lake and the Sutherland Park area. This activity has been spurred on by higher afternoon winds and available fuel pockets (what can be called “fuel finding”), especially with remaining spruce stands. Today, the southeast corner was given attention to by crews as the fire was fuel finding and spurred by strong western winds. Crews will continue to respond to activity as heavy equipment helps to wrap any excursions that have occurred over existing containment lines. With clear skies today, bucketing helicopters supported objectives all day. Crews continued to work on the northeast section, and mop-up along the east flank is ongoing. Heavy equipment has the objective to “tightline” the fire perimeter (meaning: to wrap containment lines tightly along the perimeter as an initial guard within the broader containment lines that have already been constructed along the Barlow and Dog Creek roads).

Island Lake Wildfire (R11921)
Location: Adjacent to Island Lake
Status: 20,409.0 hectares (mapped—infrared scan)
Cause: Under investigation
Resources: 52 firefighters, 23 pieces of heavy equipment, 16 helicopters (shared in the complex) – more helicopters are arriving for tomorrow.

Objectives: Crews continue efforts on the Dahlgren Road to stop the fire from creeping further towards values. In the Dahlgren Road area, hand guard was constructed today around powerlines and crews conducted planned ignitions to mitigate the risk posed by the slash and decked logs. Crews on the south side of the fire worked in the Anzus Lake and Borel Lake areas, wrapping around the eastern part of Borel Lake to tie off the fire. There is 100 feet wetlining occurring off of containment lines to secure the perimeter off the Arrow Road. The containment line that heavy equipment has been pushing in off of Francois Lake working south has been completed, and crews are following up with hoselay and blacklining to remove fuels from the fire side in order to keep the fire from advancing and to protect adjacent timber values.

Cheslatta Wildfire (R11683)
Location: North of Cheslatta Lake
Status: 7,629 hectares (estimated)
Cause: under investigation
Resources: 30 firefighters, 23 pieces of heavy equipment, 16 helicopters (shared in the complex)

Objectives: A small excursion over containment lines occurred towards the Binta Lake side to which helicopters and crews responded to, more action will occur on this tomorrow. On the west side, crews are working with heavy equipment to tie in containment lines and will maintain open communications with the Babine Complex given the proximity of the Verdun Fire and are looking for opportunities to build containment lines to support Verdun. Crews worked to blackline a 25 ft. buffer around the cultural sites that were equipped with sprinklers last night. Crews and heavy equipment continue to work to secure the eastern flank, where an excursion occurred by the end of Holy Cross Lake though crews and equipment wrapped it back in. Crews will anchor from Cheslatta Lake and work north towards the 48 Road and 20 ft wetline is occurring.

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Objectives: The fire remains internally active but is still primarily within containment lines. Visibility issues were rampant across the fire with thick smoke over the area due to western winds, but late afternoon clearing meant helicopters were eventually able to provide bucketing support to ground crews. The growth on the northeast corner has had machine guard built around the end. However, this part of the fire continues to be active within guard lines and is visible from the surrounding areas but it is resourced and the main east flank of the fire has not moved towards Fort St James, Highway 27, or Highway 16 in the last week. Crews continue to work late to take advantage of favourable conditions on the northeast flank tonight conducting hand ignitions to remove available fuels in order to reinforce the containment lines – this will be visible from the surrounding areas. Media reports from earlier today that the fire would eventually run into Stuart Lake were incorrect as the fire has not progressed towards the lake and the probability that it will do so is low given the resources and containment lines in place.
Crews continue to mop-up along the north for completed objectives while further contingency guards on the north and northeast flanks are being established. The fire remains active on the north flank in the Sutherland Drainage, but crews conducted planned ignitions today to secure parts of the flank and protect timber values. In the south, crews are mopping up along Sutherland Road to William Road from yesterday’s controlled burn and will have that line secured by end of day.

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Objectives: The growth on the northeast corner has been wrapped with machine guard, and was being supported by helicopters bucketing yesterday. The growth in the last 48 hours has been ~1200 hectares in the northeast and northwest flanks of the fire. The main flank of the fire has not moved towards Fort St James, Highway 27, or Highway 16 in the last week. Today in the north, mop up from Roof Road to Nest Road is occurring. Guard is being finished around Cold Lake and Charlotte Lake. Contingency guard on the north and northeast flanks is being established. In the south, guard is being built and hand ignitions to the east of Ormond Creek to remove fuel within the fire perimeter. Mop up along Sutherland Road between William Road to Ed Road. Burning and wet lining guard from Sutherland Road to Settlement Road. Equipment and crews are working near McKnab Lake creating machine guard to tie into existing guard on the east side near Marie Lake. On the east flank, crews are mitigating the risk to the community of Fort St James and Highway 27. Structural protection crews, including engines, water tenders trucks and personnel will remain present in the area. Heavy equipment continues to build guard starting at the Sutherland FSR and links to Dog Creek Trail, with the containment line on the southern perimeter running north of the png pipeline and Stella Rd. This continuous guard veers northward to wrap up the eastern side of the fire, crossing Barlow FSR and extending northward utilizing the Bud Rd where continued work will occur over the next few days up towards Sowchea Creek and McKnab Lake to connect onto the north side of the fire with the plan being to protect properties, timber values, and minimize environmental impact.

What do the terms head, flank and finger mean in describing a forest fire?
The head of a fire is the portion of the fire that is moving with the greatest intensity.
The flanks of a fire are the perimeters of the fire in the other directions.
A finger is an elongated area of fire that extends beyond the main body of the fire.

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Status: The Shovel Lake wildfire experienced unpredicted aggressive fire behaviour on the north flank tonight. Heavy wind and fuels contributed to aggressive fire behaviour near the Sutherland River Protected Area. In the northeast corner, a finger of fire moved 8 km through slash, and is in larger containment lines at this point. Crews are working late on the line in an effort to suppress fire activity on the northeastern flank. The thick smoke has reduced visibility to below the legal flying limit for several days and without air support such as helicopters, skimmers, and air tankers crews were challenged today. Favourable winds tomorrow should allow air operations to occur in the morning which will allow crews to be supported from the air.

Island Lake Wildfire (R11921)
Location: Adjacent to Island Lake
Status: 17,291 hectares (mapped—infrared scan)
Cause: Under investigation
Resources: 65 firefighters, 24 pieces of heavy equipment, 9 helicopters (shared in the complex)

Objectives: Air support has been grounded for the most part of the last three days. There was a 120 hectare excursion to the south of Anzus Lake running southeast towards Borel Lake four days ago. Equipment has gone ahead of this excursion and has created guard to stop further growth. Crews continue to monitor for and extinguish any spot fires. Ground crews and heavy equipment are continuing to work off the 238 Road to build a fuel free containment line. Structural firefighters are monitoring for values in need of structural protection in the area and on the lakeshore.

To read more about these fires click on the link below:
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Status: The Shovel Lake wildfire has not moved towards Highway 27, Fort St. James, or Highway 16 in the past 5 days. It is currently ~14.5km from the furthest eastern point of the fire to Highway 27, however, the main eastern flank of the fire is still between 20km -23km away from Highway 27. The fire is still also holding north of the png pipeline guard on the southern flank.  The fire perimeter is ~5.30km northeast of Highway 16 on the furthest western tip, ~5.7 km north of Highway 16 near Endako, and ~7.25km north of Highway 16 near Fort Fraser where the main eastern flank of the fire runs.

Island Lake Wildfire (R11921) Location: Adjacent to Island Lake    Status: 17,291 hectares (mapped—infrared scan) Cause: Under investigation  Resources: 65 firefighters, 15 pieces of heavy equipment, 8 helicopters (shared in the complex)

Objectives:  Air support has been grounded for the most part of the last three days. The smoke is reducing fire behaviour, however, it is difficult to determine the exact location of the fire perimeter. The Island Lake fire remains active, but visibility is very poor over the fire. There was a 120 hectare excursion to the south of Anzus Lake running southeast towards Borel Lake three days ago. Equipment has gone ahead of this excursion and has created guard to stop further growth.  
There is some increased activity on the south east corner of the fire below Anzus Lake. A 50 hectare planned ignition was conducted to remove fuels ahead of the fire.

For more information click on the link below:
http://darac.sg-host.com/wp-content/uploads/18_71W19GC_Wildfire_Update_Fraser_Complex_Aug_21_-_PM.pdf

Canadian catch in commercial fisheries is around 1.4 million fish, predominantly in the Area B purse seine (728,300) and Area E gillnet (444,900) fisheries. For First Nations, FSC fisheries have been ongoing throughout the marine approach and in-river, and a few EO fisheries have been occurring in the Lower Fraser. Recreational fisheries in the marine approach and in-river recreational fishery catch is only reported after multiple weeks of fishing and is currently unavailable.

By: Aidan Fisher, FRAFS Biologist

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Objectives: The Shovel Lake fire remains active, and has currently been mapped at 84,793.7 hectares using high level infra-red scans. Today ground crews worked to mop up sections of the fire on the southern perimeter and will continue to push guard in on the southern flank of the fire. The east side of the fire was active yesterday and crossed over the Settlement Road, moving through some heavy timber and into a field, moving under the burn scar from last year. Heavy equipment and crews worked to tie this back in to the perimeter yesterday. Skimmers also were working on the Hannay Road guard to assist equipment and crews on the ground. Crews along the south perimeter of the fire conducted a successful planned ignition yesterday, creating an approximately six kilometre fuel free from Stern Lake to Ormond Creek. This reinforces the containment line that has been put in place along the png pipeline and will help stop fire growth south towards the north shore of Fraser Lake by removing fuel within the fire perimeter to eliminate the chance of re-burn and fire spotting potential. This planned ignition was supported by water skimming aircraft off of Fraser Lake, airtankers dropping fire retardant, and bucketing helicopters. Structural firefighters and structural protection specialists were on the Stella Road area to protect structures as a proactive measure during the burn-off. Night crews were assigned to active sections of the fire last night to keep communities and structures safe. Heavy equipment has now pushed continuous guard on the south side of the fire going east. The continuous guard starts at the Sutherland FSR and links to Dog Creek Trail, with the containment line running north of the png pipeline and Stella Rd. This continuous guard veers northward to wrap up the eastern side of the fire, crossing Barlow FSR and extending northward. The eastern guard is currently about one kilometre northwest of Marie Lake. Ground crews and heavy equipment will also continue making a guard near Hannay Rd on the northwestern side of the fire today. While the BC Wildfire Service appreciates the support from the local communities, we are unable to accept or facilitate donations at the Fraser Lake fire camp. Instead, please consider donating to groups supporting wildfire evacuees in affected areas.
Evacuations: An Evacuation Order and Alert remains in effect for this wildfire by the Bulkley Nechako Regional District, with the alert being expanded last night. For more information visit: https://www.rdbn.bc.ca/
BC Wildfire Service continues to implement an Area Order Restriction to protect public safety due to the wildfire’s rate of spread and to avoid interference with fire suppression efforts. The area restriction will remain in place until noon on Sept. 15, 2018, or until the order is rescinded. The area restriction order applies to all Crown land outlined on the map (including recreational campgrounds) that is available online at: http://ow.ly/X8Mr30lbPR9

Island Lake Wildfire (R11921)
Location: Adjacent to Island Lake
Status: 14,864 hectares in size (estimated)
Cause: Under investigation
Resources: 64 firefighters, 11 pieces of heavy equipment, 8 helicopters shared in the complex

Objectives: The Island Lake fire was active yesterday, with noticeable smoke coming off of the incident in the morning. There was a 120 hectare excursion to the south of Anzus Lake running southeast towards Borel Lake. No structural values were threatened. Crews continue to monitor for and extinguish any spot fires. Ground crews and heavy equipment are continuing to work off the 238 Road to build a fuel free containment line. Hand ignitions were conducted yesterday evening to support the development of safety zones between Borel Lake and Anzus Lake. Heavy equipment are working night shifts to build guard while fire activity is minimal. Today, crews will continue their work to tie the fire into the former Binta Fire burn scar from 2010. Crews are continuing to build guard on the southeast flank and the 238 Road and are monitoring for values in need of structural protection in the area and on the lakeshore. The weather is anticipated to be warm and dry today, with winds alternating from the east and the north up to 15 km/hr. While the BC Wildfire Service appreciates the support from the local communities, we are unable to accept or facilitate donations at the Fraser Lake fire camp. Instead please consider donating to groups supporting wildfire evacuees in affected areas.

Fire Weather Summary
Sunday – Sunny. Winds becoming N-E 8-15km/h. High temperatures near 26 and minimum RH 20-25%. Sunday night the inversion issue returns with lower recovery aloft.
Outlook Monday and Tuesday — The ridge drifts inland Monday. Sunshine continues and temps rise to near 28°C with humidity in the low 20’s. Winds Monday light E-NE. On Tuesday, a weak upper cold front moves to near Smithers as the ridge heads east. Sunshine continues and temperatures remain near 28°C with humidity in the low 20’s. Winds become SW-W 15-20km/h with potential gusts to 30.

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