200 New Forest Fires In British Columbia Just This Week - Crews Holding Their Own So Far

[hatrack]

Firefighters held their ground against wildfires raging across the province Tuesday after an explosive holiday weekend that saw more than 200 new fires ignited. “It’s been a good day in that I haven’t heard of any significant changes,” said Alyson Couch, a provincial fire information officer in Victoria.

In particular, Couch noted “really good progress” in the battle to contain the giant Mount McLean fire burning just one kilometre west of Lillooet. Twenty firefighters and 16 helicopters worked furiously overnight Monday to keep the 3,333-hectare blaze from spreading into town.

That success continued Tuesday. But the fire remained a significant threat to the surrounding area and an evacuation order was extended to include residents of the Kayoosh First Nations and the community of Bridge River. About 2,300 residents, including those living along the west side of the Fraser River and the northeast shore of Seton Lake, have been ordered out of their homes until the fire is contained.

Couch said fire crews were able to gain ground against the 7,500-hectare Terrace Mountain fire, northwest of Kelowna. On Tuesday, the fire, which has been burning since July 18, was reported to be 30-per-cent contained, with helicopters and airtankers flying continuously during daylight hours to douse hot spots to keep the fire perimeter from flaring up.

EDIT

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Hundreds%20fires%20raging%20across%20thousands%20still%20face%20evacuation%20orders/1859846/story.html

[OnlinePoker]

1. BC Forests

I'm really surprised at how little forest has been burning this year. It was a dry spring and with all those dead trees from the Pine Beetle infestation conditions are tinder dry. All we would need is one major lighting storm to go through or a nut with gas bombs out there to set the whole province on fire.

[Fotoware58]

2. Only 20 firefighters?

You cannot fight a fire solely from the air. Gotta have "boots on the ground" to actually put the fire out. If this was occurring in the US, they would be letting a majority of those fires burn, temporarily making those distant urban preservationists very happy. I've been seeing some movement on the Let-Burn program, as some people seem to finally be seeing the big picture. The idea that "letting nature take its course" in this "unnatural" situation only results in destruction and devastation.