UPDATE (July 13, 12:30 p.m.) - Coastal Fire Centre is considering a planned ignition for the 110-hectare Davis Lake wildfire due to 鈥渟teep and inoperable terrain鈥� for crews.

鈥淓xisting roads and natural features support this strategy, as do the contingency plans and guards put in place by the crews and heavy equipment. This is the safest option for the Davis Lake incident operational objectives,鈥� Coastal Fire said.

Planned ignitions add fire to the landscape to bring it to the containment lines of firefighters.

According to BC Wildfire Service, the planned ignition will allow crews to control the spread of wildfire and protect critical values even though igniting unburned fuel (grass, twigs, branches, logs and trees) adds more fire to the landscape.

Coastal Fire says the size of the planned burn is currently undetermined because crews are reviewing the plan in the helicopter at this time.

ORIGINAL STORY

A wildfire remains out of control north of Mission and has grown to 110 hectares.

The fire was discovered last Wednesday night (July 5) at approximately 8 p.m. just 0.5 km north of Davis Lake and 18 km north of Mission.

Coastal Fire Centre information officer Kimberly Kelly says the spread of the fire can be attributed to less-than-ideal terrain with steep slopes, danger trees and unstable rock.

鈥淔or the safety of our crews, we don鈥檛 put firefighters or any type of respondents in areas that might be dangerous,鈥� Kelly said. 鈥淲e can鈥檛 have people working under areas that are burning [or] at risk of falling debris.鈥�

The fire could grow in the coming days as crews attempt to box in the fire with control lines, but Kelly says there will be no values-at-risk.

鈥淲e鈥檙e not expecting it to spread closer to the community,鈥� Kelly said. 鈥淲hat we are trying to do is action this fire in a way that is safe for our responders, for our equipment and for the community.鈥�

Fifty-eight personnel from Coastal Fire Centre and one helicopter are responding to the blaze as of Wednesday (July 12), with heavy equipment also supporting operations.

The 17-person Fraser Unit crew is constructing a 鈥渉and guard鈥� in areas that heavy equipment cannot access that will connect to another guard already established on the southeast edge of the fire. Hand guards are wide paths ahead of a wildfire where combustible materials such as grass, twigs, branches, logs and trees are removed.

The 18-person Thunderbird Unit crew is working on the north flank of the fire.

According to BC Wildfire Service, the suspected cause of the blaze is human activity but specifics won鈥檛 be determined until an investigation is completed.

The Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD) asked people to completely avoid the area in an Emergency Advisory released on Friday (July 7) for Electoral Area F, to allow for wildfire-fighting activities to be prioritized.

Lost Creek Forest Service Roads is closed in relation to the fire and there are no current evacuation orders for the incident.

On Tuesday (July 11), Coastal Fire Centre said crews were 鈥渁ctioning indirect tactics鈥� and making good progress in establishing control lines with heavy equipment and small-scale burning. On Saturday (July 8), crews were able to do some small area burning on the southwest flank of the fire.

鈥淭hese tactics are used to box in the fire and lessen the likelihood of the fire being able to cross control lines,鈥� the BC Wildfire Service website reads. 鈥淭his type of burning is done on the fire side of the control line to reduce the fuels between the line and the advancing fire, which reduces fire behaviour as it approaches the control line.鈥�

The fire centre says planned ignitions provide a way for firefighters to work from easily accessible and established control lines, which are more suitable for efficient and effective suppression efforts.

鈥淔ireline hazards become more manageable, thus creating a safer working margin for fire crews and heavy equipment to operate,鈥� the website reads.

The fire started at six hectares when first discovered before growing to 38 hectares by Friday (July 7) and 110 acres by Tuesday (July 11).

The blaze is labelled a 鈥渨ildfire of note鈥�, reserved for wildfires that are highly visible or pose a potential threat to public safety.

After burning for two weeks, a 19-hectare wildfire was previously extinguished near Davis Lake by the Coastal Fire Centre on June 2.

A ban from Coastal Fire on campfires, fireworks and more was reinstated on July 7.

dillon.white@missioncityrecord.com
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dillon.white@missioncityrecord.com
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