Initial attack crew leader Jarrett Achsen puts out a spot fire Monday morning during the White Lake Road/Willowbrook blaze, which is more than 70 per cent contained.
Thanks to Mother Nature and a lot of sweat equity, the White Lake Road/Willowbrook fire is 100 per cent contained.
The wildfire that broke out on Sunday afternoon, southwest of Okanagan Falls burned approximately 70 hectares of forest. By Monday morning it was 70 per cent contained, with fire officials predicting full containment later that day.
Willowbrook firefighters (from left) Max Tetachuk, Dave Holtjer, Doug Hume and Chief Brad Fossett take a break from the White Lake Road fire on July 29. Below, a helicopter drops water on the smouldering remnants of the blaze, while forestry crews head into the area.
Lyonel Doherty photo
Twelve homes on Yellowbrick Road and Willowbrook Road were still on evacuation alert as of Monday morning, but that order was lifted Monday afternoon.
Local resident Denis Pelletier was in Las Vegas when friends notified him of the fire. He wasn’t too worried because he had a good horse sitter who relocated the animals out of harm’s way.
“It was interesting to come back and see what was burned,” said Pelletier, noting that a portion of land he donated to BC Parks suffered the fire’s wrath.
The homeowner stated there is a lot to be said for cattle grazing when it comes to preventing fire spread.
Both Forest Protection Officer Jim Mottishaw and Willowbrook Fire Chief Brad Fossett knew immediately that the July 28 fire had strong potential.
“We knew we were into a stage three fire because it was crawling into the trees,” Fossett said, recalling what he saw when he first arrived on scene at 3:30 pm.
He explained that 18 members of the fire department utilized four pieces of equipment to take up a defensive position and protect nearby properties.
“Our job was to pull back and protect the exposures, making sure the homes were protected,” Fossett said.
At one point the flames came within 300 yards of nearby homes, he stated. Luckily, Willowbrook Road acted as a barrier and air tanker support stopped the immediate threat. Firefighters were patrolling the road to make sure the blaze didn’t jump across.
Fossett noted they had a limited water source on the ground, but the biggest challenge was the wind, he pointed out. Winds of 25 km/h caused the fire to spread rapidly on Sunday.
“It was fast moving,” Mottishaw said, noting the blaze got into the timber, which created deadly snags that fire crews had to be wary of.
Mottishaw said ground crews did the majority of the work. He praised members of the Willowbrook Volunteer Fire Department for their crucial role. In fact, he noted members took it upon themselves to extinguish a spot fire 300 metres up a steep slope – a job normally reserved for forestry crews. This fire had the potential to spread into a local subdivision, the Chronicle was told.
Fossett said it’s “boots on the ground” that contain fires, with help from Mother Nature.
He noted this fire was in rough terrain, so he didn’t want his members charging up there like “cowboys.”
Initial attack crew leader Jarrett Achsen puts out a smouldering stump during the White Lake Road fire on Monday. Officials say the blaze is more than 70 per cent contained.
Mottishaw said the blaze was human caused, but it’s still too early to say how. The officer believes it started on the side of the road in a ditch. He said it could have been a cigarette or how someone parked his or her vehicle. Even a spark from a brake shoe could have been the culprit, he noted. According to Mottishaw, there were no campfires or all-terrain vehicles in the area when the fire broke out.
Willowbrook firefighters and forestry crews were assisted by Kaleden Fire Department, which took action on the north end of the fire.
There were no reports of any structures burned or people injured.
Lyonel Doherty
Oliver Chronicle
