New fire in Gilnockie Provincial Park area

BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) this afternoon reports the St. Mary River Wildfire in ʔaq̓am has tripled in size in the past day, now sitting at about 2,601 hectares.

“The majority of the growth was to the north, the majority of the active fire remains east of the Upper Mission Road over to the Kootenay River and around the Francis Lake area south of Francis Lake,” BCWS outlined.

“There is a pocket of fire that crossed the Mission Road to the west, which is just north of the spring prescribed burn. Crews worked through the night pushing control lines with heavy equipment and conducting small-scale ignitions to contain this escape. These ignitions are done to remove fuels in a controlled way. Work in this area is ongoing.

“No major fire activity or growth was noted in the Bummers Flats area west of the Kootenay River. Crews are establishing a wetline starting from the St. Mary’s River.

BCWS said site and weather conditions aligned for ground crews to start a hand ignition this morning to protect residences on the north end of Mission Wasa Low Road.

The ignition was estimated to be 50-hectares in size.

“Planned ignitions are an essential firefighting tactic to remove fuels in a controlled manner and create a higher level of containment.  As of 4:15 p.m. on Thursday, the planned ignitions are complete, crews are doing mop-up and patrolling. This area will be monitored overnight to monitor the ignition site,” BCWS said.

There are four Initial Attack crews and two Unit Crews responding to the out-of-control wildfire of note; 125 personnel including BC Wildfire personnel, contract crews, and single resources. Additionally, City of Cranbrook and City of Kimberley firefighters are on site.

Aviation resources included a skimmer group assigned to the incident.

Skimmers can be utilizing Moyie Lake as a water source to respond to this incident. These aircraft require a large area on the lake to operate safely and any watercraft can obstruct operations which can force them to divert. This can have a significant impact on fire response if our aircraft can’t operate efficiently due to public interference. Boaters must stay back so aircraft can conduct their work safely.

Please remain clear of skimming aircraft, your cooperation ensures the aircraft can safely skim water on the lake surface and ensures response to the wildfire is not negatively impacted.

Three heavy-lift helicopters are now assigned to the incident. Helicopters and airtankers including skimmers are going to be working throughout the day reinforcing control lines and supporting any small scale planned ignitions; as long as visibility allows for safe flying. Information on retardant can be found here.

Structure protection is set up in Cherry Creek and structure protection will be on site with split shifts, crews will be monitoring this site during the day and overnight. Structure protection crews are also working on Firesmarting properties in this area to remove flammable materials from around properties, BCWS explained.

As a precautionary measure, structure protection assessments and plans are being put in place for any residences that could be impacted by fire growth in the coming days.

BCWS is also this afternoon making a full response on a new lightning-caused wildfire on the southeast edge of Gilnockie Provincial Park, discovered at 5:22 p.m. on July 19.

The out-of-control fire is an estimated 2.1 ha.

Gilnockie Park is about 58 km south of Cranbrook.

Lead image: A view of the St. Mary River Wildfire in ʔaq̓am from Canadian Rockies International Airport on July 18.  e-KNOW file photo

e-KNOW

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