— Tripod Fire now just 24 kilometres from Osoyoos —
(OSOYOOS TIMES — September 6, 2006) —
While dry, windy conditions continue and the Tripod Fire in northern Washington State edges closer to the B.C. border just southwest of Osoyoos, the rapidly advancing new Tatoosh Fire has crossed from Washington into the province near Manning Park and is diverting some state and provincial resources to that area.
Smoke, which continues to be a problem in Osoyoos from the long-burning Tripod Fire, is now a serious problem from Princeton to the east gate of Manning Park, caused by the Tatoosh Fire.
The Tatoosh blaze has caused B.C. Forest Service officials to order an evacuation south of Highway 3 along the Pasayten Forest Service Road and all of its side roads.
Although they note the Tatoosh Fire is still far from Princeton, officials say an Emergency Operations Centre has been established in the Princeton Hospital to address smoke concerns from the public.
As of Monday, the Tatoosh Fire covered about 5,700 hectares but was burning rapidly. It has drawn some B.C. fire information staff from the South Okanagan and Washington State firefighters, although B.C. information staff in Oliver are being replaced.
As of Tuesday, the Tripod Fire had advanced to just two kilometres south of the border, about 24 km west of Osoyoos. It has burned more than 62,250 hectares since it began from a lightning strike July 24.
About 1,455 personnel are fighting the Tripod Fire, fewer than the more than 2,500 who were fighting it more than a week ago. It is about 56 per cent contained.
American fire officials issued a red flag warning Tuesday for the fires, to alert people to an imminent critical fire weather pattern “ with low humidity, gusty winds and erratic fire behaviour. The Tripod and Tatoosh Fires are expected to continue to burn actively in the coming days.
B.C. Forest Service information officer Dale Bojahra notes that the Tripod Fire is already twice the size of the Okanagan Mountain Fire in 2003 that burned an area on the southern edge of Kelowna.
He says fire officials have a plan for fighting the fire if and when it crosses the Canadian border. In the meantime, dozens of B.C. personnel are helping fight the fire in the U.S.
