BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) this morning (July 30) reported minimal growth on the Lladnar Creek Wildfire adjacent to the District of Sparwood.

“Only minimal growth was observed on the fire on Saturday and into Sunday. On the north side, the fire continued to progress downslope into Matevic Draw. On the east flank, the fire is slowly moving downslope and meeting the control line. Guards are complete from Cummings Creek in the north to Lladnar Creek in the south,” BCWS said of the fire, now 379.9 hectares.

“Plans are complete for contingency lines south, tying into large slide paths on the east face of Mt. Hosmer that work as natural containment.

“On Saturday, crews continued small-scale hand ignitions to anchor the fire to the guard. This tactic removes unburnt fuel between the fire edge and control lines in an intentional manner to reduce the chance of the fire spreading beyond control lines and anchor the fire to the machine guard. These small-scale planned ignitions are likely to continue on the east flank as the fire comes down to secure control lines.”

Firefighters are also establishing water-delivery systems and hoselay in critical areas around the wildfire discovered July 21.

Structure protection personnel are on site to assess, plan and set up structure protection as required in areas of potential concern. Crews remain overnight to monitor fire growth and suppress any spots as they occur.

Winds are expected to increase on Sunday afternoon as the risk of a thundershower increases in the afternoon, otherwise temperatures and humidities similar to Saturday.

The BC Wildfire Service is increasing resources in the Sparwood area. The increased presence of BCWS personnel, equipment, operational staff and others related to firefighting efforts will be visible to the community in the coming days.

As there was no change to fire behaviour or suppression tactics, there is no operational video update.

The most recent video update on operations with BCWS Incident Commander Daniel Klein and Regional District of East Kootenay Communications Manager Loree Duczek filmed July 29 is available here.

An Incident Command Post is established at the Sparwood Recreation and Leisure Centre, which is hosting approximately 125 personnel responding to this fire. For information on any impacts to usual operations at the leisure centre, please visit the District of Sparwood website.

The District of Sparwood has issued an evacuation ALERT due to this wildfire (see map above). For the latest information on evacuation alerts and orders, visit the District of Sparwood website.

The BC Wildfire Service recommends evacuation orders or alerts to local governments based on areas of potential concern after considering a number of factors including: site conditions and weather, current and forecast fire behaviour and the presence of natural containment features.

Currently, wildfire officers on the Lladnar Creek wildfire have deemed evacuation alerts for Sparwood are only recommended for Sparwood Heights south of Sparwood Heights Drive and residences on Matevic Road. This is due to these areas being in closest proximity to the fire and most likely impacted in the event of unexpected downslope growth over containment lines. Wildfire officers continue to monitor fire progression and will extend alerts if weather, fire behaviour and forecasted fire growth render it necessary.

While the BC Wildfire Service recommends evacuation orders and alerts, local authorities are responsible for implementing them. For more information on the evacuation alert due to the Lladnar Creek Wildfire, visit the District of Sparwood website.

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