The BC Wildfire Service this afternoon reports the St. Mary’s River Wildfire has not grown in the past 24 hours and is holding at 4,093 hectares in size.

“In the last 24 hours, nothing has changed, which is great to report,” said Incident Commander Daniel Klein. “We are remaining extremely vigilant.”

Control lines held through the overnight period into Monday. Fire activity remains stable and is observed at rank 1 with pockets of rank 2, which is a smouldering ground fire with some pockets of visible flame, BCWS’s latest update noted.

“As hot, dry, windy weather continues, site conditions remain susceptible for spot fires. Detecting and suppressing these spots as they occur remains the highest priority for aviation, heavy equipment and ground crews at this time.”

Incident Commander Daniel Klein and Loree Duczek from the Regional District of East Kootenay provided a detailed operational update recorded on July 24 at 11:10 a.m.

There are seven aircraft assigned to this incident, including two heavy-lift helicopters. Rotary wing (helicopter) resources will be continuing to support the fire throughout the day as visibility and daylight allows. Ground crews and aviation are working in tandem to detect and suppress hotspots as they are discovered during the day.

Evacuation Orders and Alerts

Evacuation ALERTS and ORDERS for The ʔaq’am community have been updated as follows.

As a result of elevated winds and increased fire activity on July 22, the Regional District of East Kootenay has increased the evacuation ALERT area as follows.
In addition, the City of Cranbrook has implemented an evacuation ALERT for the Canadian Rockies International Airport.

Lead image: A view of a portion of the St. Mary’s River Wildfire from Kimberley on July 22. e-KNOW file photo

e-KNOW

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