Smoke may still be visible for quite some time near the village of Gold River as a wildfire burns in difficult terrain.
According to BC Wildfire Service information officer Kyla Preto, the wildfire is estimated at around 35-hectares in size and is currently burning out of control. However, it is being treated in a modified response because it is burning in steep, difficult to access and dangerous terrain.
“This means that we have assessed the potential for the fire to impact values such as structures and homes, and then we will suppress the fire only where necessary to protect those values and when it’s safe to do so,” said Preto.
“We do have crews working on it in the terrain that is workable for them, but it’s likely that we will see the top of that fire continue to burn through the summer just due to the safety hazards of where it’s burning.”
Preto adds residents will still see smoke from the village for quite some time, but the modified response will allow for a natural part of the Island’s ecosystem take place by letting the fire burn.
Meanwhile, the Newcastle Creek fire burning near Sayward since May is under “being held” status. Preto says they are still not expecting the fire to grow any further than its 230 hectares, but it could continue to burn for quite some time as well.
“A lot of it does depend on the conditions, at this point our crews are just continuing to establish control lines and finish mop up activities so it’s hard to put a time frame on when it could move to an under-control status,” said Preto.
Preto adds that with very dry conditions throughout the province, they will be putting resources where it is more critical.
While cooler temperatures and rain are being seen over the next few days, it is important that we stay vigilant, cautious and report any fires, according to BC Wildfire Service.
