The BC Wildfire Service is sending about three dozen personnel to the Yukon today to help fight blazes there.
Information officer Kyla Fraser says as of today, B.C. will have about 60 personnel in the territory. According to the Yukon fire map, there are about two dozen fires burning that make up more than 73,000 hectares.
Meanwhile, she says fire crews that assisted with a blaze near Oroville, Wash. yesterday, just south of Osoyoos, have now returned. That fire is now mapped at 120 hectares.
“So yesterday we sent two tankers and a birddog from Penticton to go help with that fire there. Today we don’t have any resources on site, we won’t be sending any more tankers. I’m thinking that if they’re not needing our assistance with that today then hopefully they kind of got a handle on things yesterday and it’s looking better.”
Fraser says there are also about 150 personnel in northern Alberta, and she expects they will all be returning to B.C. later this week.
In our province, a shade over 11,000 hectares have burned so for this fire season, which is significantly below the average for this point in the year.
“Things are looking pretty good outside right now, we’re getting a lot of rain right around the province and that’s expected to continue throughout the week. But even though we are seeing these conditions, it’s good for fires, maybe not so good for recreational users, but if people do plan to head out, still making sure that they’re going to be cautious, because we are still anticipating dryer conditions later on in the summer,” Fraser says.
(Photo: Yukon Protective Services)
#WaWILDFIRE UPDATE: #SwansonMillFire near #Oroville is approximately 300 acres. Crews worked overnight to contain — remaining resources on the ground are now mopping up.
— Washington State DNR Wildfire (@waDNR_fire) July 4, 2019
Wildfire smoke continues to affect Yukon. A smoke advisory for all Yukon communities was issued yesterday by the Chief Medical Officer of Health: https://t.co/K8jA2EuUmU
— Protective Services (@YukonPS) July 3, 2019
