Drought conditions continue to be the major headline as fire crews battle the Parker Lake and Patry Creek wildfires surrounding the Fort Nelson area.
Currently, 158 firefighters, six danger-tree specialists, 21 helicopters, one fixed-wing aircraft along with an incident management team have been deployed up to this point.
North Peace Complex Fire Information Officer, Dave MacKinnon told Vista Radio it’s been a challenge to say the least.
“It does mean that the fire is dug in below the forest floor and the crews are reporting they need to dig down as far as four feet to fully extinguish hot spots, which isn’t typical for this part of the province. It’s the hand we are dealt.”
“Crews are focused on extinguishing fire along Highway 97 and the north flank of the Parker Lake wildfire in order to prevent any further growth towards Fort Nelson or the Alaska Highway. However, the fire is quite dug in and there are severe drought conditions out there, which does pose significant challenges.”
He adds the recent rain and cooler temperatures allowed crews to do direct attacks and install some control lines.
“The downturn in weather that we saw over the last week or so has given the crews a really good opportunity to do some direct attack firefighting, which means we get right up to the fire’s edge, we put it out as it lays and, is the opportunity we need to put some control lines in,” added MacKinnon.
The Parker Lake wildfire remains at 12,348 hectares while Patry Creek is 74,344 hectares.
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