The latest mapping shows the Pear Lake fire — part of the Big Bar Complex of fires — has grown by over 60 sq./km in size since the previous check-in, with new mapping unveiled Thursday putting the blaze at 73,217 hectares.

That’s a significant growth increase from the 66, 871 hectares it was listed as of Wednesday.

That represents a rise in size of nearly 63.5 sq./km since the last mapping effort by the BC Wildfire Service, which doesn’t happen as often as it would have during the initial hours and days of the fire.

When wildfires in BC first break out, ground locations from callers to the wildfire hotline *5555 or by local officials in the area are relayed to  regional dispatchers.

Using an internal tool called DispatchBC, call takers take down the information they collect, then feed it through the system which does its calculations, then automatically pushes the estimated size and location to the public BC Wildfire Map and mobile app — these days in near real-time.

The mapping process for larger-scale fires such as Pear Lake is more complex, as it requires information gathered from above via aircraft to provide an outline of the outer perimeter of the fire, with computers then using data analysis and photographs to put together the size of a fire.

While computer systems are good at giving a higher-level assessment of a fire and its impact on a much wider-scale, its ‘boots on the ground’ that are needed to do any damage assessments.

Likely a week before potential return for Clinton

While the assessments of what’s been damaged and lost in the Village of Clinton are underway by personnel doing what’s known as rapid assessment work, what seems most likely is most folks living in Clinton are not likely going to be able to see what’s happened with their own eyes for at least another week.

While the ultimate decision about when to lift an evacuation order and allow a return is made on the local level, what’s likely going to be driving the return schedule for Clinton is just how quickly BC Hydro can restore power to the ‘core’ of the community.

There are a list of guidelines and benchmarks provided to municipalities and First Nations by the Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness that the province suggests a community achieve before they start allowing people back into an evacuation zone.

One of the benchmarks set out by the BC Government is the restoration of power — or at the very least — a plan to have power restored.

While that plan is already in place when it comes to Clinton for BC Hydro, the main determinant is how quickly the utility will be able to re-establish power to the ‘core’ of the community.

“In an attempt to power up the downtown area of Clinton, feel very confident in having that completed if fire activity doesn’t increase,” said BC Hydro Senior Manager Greg Jackson during Wednesday’s briefing. “If we can keep the resourcing prioritized in this fashion, that should be later next week.”

Without electricity to core services, such as the local water and waste-water treatment facilities, they would not be operational when the municipality allowed residents to return.

That would mean no direct access to potable water for people to drink, flush a toilet or take a shower, making any return before core services are restored a potential health hazard as well, and not recommended by the BC Government.

The delay for BC Hydro in restoring critical power connections in Clinton is due mostly to the approach of the fire itself.

The Pear Lake fire rolled along a stretch which is critical to keeping the lights on in the south Cariboo.

During its march around the region, the Pear Lake blaze has destroyed 145 different ‘power structures’ and seven kilometers worth of transmission line along the Highway 97 corridor, leaving roughly 1,200 customers without electricity.

While the ultimate decision as to when people will be allowed to return to the Village will be up to municipal authorities in Clinton itself — with mayor and council providing the final say — any final decision on a day to return would likely be in conjunction or consultation with the TNRD to ensure a smooth transition for those living inside and outside the Village.

Clinton ‘line of fire’ threat reduced, winds to push northeast into weekend

 

One piece of positive news which should help Clinton residents achieve an earlier return is the backburn — a controlled ignition — conducted on Wednesday which appears to have cut off at least part of the available line of fuel a fire could roll through, should there be a dramatic swing in the prevailing winds to once-again threaten the community.

With the threat being scaled back for Clinton, its expected the next focus of the BC Wildfire Service will be Pear Lake’s northeastern flank.

It has been pushing steadily north through the Chasm area this week, forcing firefighters to shift to a defensive mode around 70 Mile House.

BC Wildfire advised during Wednesday’s briefing that it had been triaging spot fires and setting up structural protection equipment to defend the frontlines along the fire’s northeast, where some 650 properties are currently under an evacuation order.

A general level of uncertainty, combined with the raw level of concern that fire can build up in people, is thought to be taking a psychological toll on some in the region, many of whom would have been around for the devastating Elephant Hill fire in 2017.

“No matter what your experience, no matter what your feelings, you are absolutely entitled to those feelings,” said TNRD Chair Barbara Roden to start out Wednesday’s briefing, urging residents to seek mental health support rather than suffering in silence.

“You do not need to compare yourself to anyone else.”

To help manage the anxiety of the ongoing crisis, Roden is warning residents to avoid online speculation and rely strictly on official sources, such as the TNRD Emergency Operations Centre, for the most accurate and up-to-date information.