Firefighters work to control the fire at Kobau Mountain Road on Thursday. They were doing controlled burnouts to deprive the fire of the fuel it needs to spread. (Richard McGuire photo)
The Testalinden Creek fire burning to the northwest of Osoyoos has now grown to 2,500 hectares, but is 50 per cent contained.
Crews with 119 firefighters, nine helicopters and 12 pieces of heavy equipment were still working around the clock Thursday afternoon at establishing containment lines, B.C. Wildfire Services said.
On Wednesday, crews were able to establish strong containment lines along the east flank, the area along Highway 97, said Noelle Kekula, fire information officer.
And crews were still looking for hotspots on the southeast flank, she added.
Firefighters have been doing controlled burns on the northwest flank, trying to starve the fire of the fuel it needs to spread on Mount Kobau.
“Right now we’ve got the air support and the ground support just working the containment lines to wet it down and mop it up,” Kekula said.
On Thursday, crews were doing burnouts in the Kobau Mountain Road area, she added.
Although most structures are no longer endangered, there are some communication towers on the west flank.
“Those also have structure protection units on them and we have black-lined it so we are protecting them to the best of our ability,” Kekula added.
Black-lining refers to doing controlled burns around structures so that there is no fuel left for an uncontrolled fire to burn.
With heavy smoke in the Osoyoos area Wednesday afternoon, the provincial Ministry of Environment and Interior Health Authority issued a smoky skies advisory. That notice was still in effect as of Thursday afternoon.
People are advised to avoid strenuous outdoor activities. They should contact their health care provider if they experience: difficulty in breathing, chest pain or discomfort, a sudden onset of cough or irritation of airways.
Exposure is particularly a concern for infants, the elderly and those who have underlying medical conditions such as diabetes, lung or heart disease.
While some of the smoke results from fires close to Osoyoos, much of it is from large fires burning south of the border, including a very large fire north of Omak, Wash.
On Wednesday, three people involved in fighting a separate fire near Twisp, Wash. were killed.
Meanwhile, the Wilson’s Mountain Road fire one kilometre north of Oliver, which broke out on Friday, Aug. 14, around the same time as the Testalinden Creek fire, is now 100 per cent contained. A crew guards the perimeter.
The large fire near Rock Creek, now 4,260 hectares, is 50 per cent contained. On Wednesday morning, the evacuation order was lifted and downgraded to an alert.
Highway 33 was still closed between Rock Creek and Beaverdell as of Thursday afternoon.
Organizers announced yesterday that this weekend’s scheduled Ponderosa Arts and Music Festival at Rock Creek has been called off due to the fire.
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
