UPDATE – 2:45 p.m. – The BC Wildfire Service says some planned ignition work in the Lac Le Jeune area has gone ahead today because of favourable weather conditions.

In an update online, it says ignition work is currently underway in Area 2 of the map pictured on the left.

Information Officer, Forrest Tower, told Radio NL while the work was supposed to take place over weekend, there were some unstable winds in the southwest corner of the Ross Moore Lake fire.

“It is the last piece on that fire of sort of uncontrolled line in that southwest corner and then pretty much that fire, it won’t change to being held right away, but its much more closer to 100 per cent containment,” Tower said Monday.

“It then allows crews to work off or areas in the perimeter where they need to.”

Tower said “favourable” conditions would be winds that blow the 72.5 square kilometre fire back onto itself.

“In this case, it’d be a heli-torch that would be used [for the planned ignition], and so that is a helicopter that is dropping flammable substance that is on fire. We want that heat to sort of build up and then get blown and sucked back into the main area of the fire, instead of spreading outwards,” Tower added.

“So yes, any sort of wind that would allow that fire to burn back into itself is what we would be looking for. If we don’t see any favourable conditions develop then alternate strategies will obviously be used to get containment in that corner, but this is the fastest and safest way to do it.”

At this time, it is not clear when – or if – ignition work will take place in Area 1, with Tower saying updates can be found on the wildfire of note page here.

“On August 11, crews completed the guard between Area 1 and Area 2 for a possible planned ignition,” the Wildfire Service said, in an update online. “The completion of this guard minimizes the potential of having to conduct the larger-scale ignition operation in Area 1.”

Tower said smoke will likely be visible from Kamloops in part due to this planned ignition work, but also because the ongoing heat wave is expected to lead to an increase in fire behaviour on all three fires in the Adams Complex.

Looks like it went ahead pic.twitter.com/c92HWNm1QI

— Dave – AlpineLifer 💎💎 (@AlpineLifer) August 14, 2023

Sunday evening, the Thompson-Nicola Regional District downgraded evacuation orders for properties in the Long Lake Road and Edith Lake Road area to evacuation alerts.

As of publishing, there are just two properties – 5140 and 5240 Lac Le Jeune Road – that remain on evacuation order with another 343 properties on evacuation alert.

All of those properties were ordered to evacuate  on July 23, though the vast majority – 327 properties – were taken off order five days later, on July 28.

People taken off evacuation order on Sunday will be able to access their properties for the first time in about three weeks.

Evacuation orders were also lifted around the Lower East Adams Lake Fire and the Bush Creek East fires on Saturday, though all three Kamloops-area fires are still burning out of control.

Smoky skies remind Juniper Ridge residents of 2021 Canada Day fire

The Juniper Ridge Community Association says smoke from the Ross Moore Lake fire south of Kamloops has reminded a number of residents to ensure they’re prepared to evacuate at a moments notice.

The association’s Jennifer Davis, says that includes her family.

“Our family has, with that fire, repacked our evacuation bag that we hadn’t packed yet, and I know a lot of other residents have started to think what do I need to put in a bag so that we can get out of the house quickly? Where is the pet food? Where is the pet carrier? How can we go?” Davis said.

Davis is urging other residents to stay prepared, noting its a good idea even as work to reduce the fire risk has been taking place.

“I know the Juniper West development this past spring did some great fire mitigation on the north side of the community and burned some of the undershrub putting in a fire break,” she added.

“That I think, helped our community as well.”

Davis also says the sight of smoke has left a number of residents in that part of Kamloops on edge, following the fire on Canada Day in 2021.

While it did not destroy any properties, a number of people who were trying to flee the flames were trapped in their vehicles on Highland Road due to a lack of available escape routes.