Adams Lake wildfires remaining steady in size – Okanagan

The Lower East Adams Lake wildfire hasn’t changed in the past 48 hours.

That’s according to the Columbia Shuswap Regional District, which said the area received some rainfall on Tuesday, and that Wednesday’s temperatures are cooler than previous days.

“(The rain), however, has minimal impact on fire fuel conditions in the deeper, dry layers,” the regional district said. “Fires also burn in tree root systems underground.”

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Located around 21 kilometres north of Chase, the fire is sized at 4,823 hectares, the same estimation as Saturday morning, when the blaze’s perimeter was remapped.

The fire was discovered on July 12 and is deemed out of control, along with having a suspected cause of lightning.

Forty-one wildland firefighters are on scene, along with a dozen helicopters in the zone plus 15 pieces of heavy equipment.

The regional district said wildfire crews and heavy equipment are continuing to build a fire guard along the fire’s south flank, and that planned burns are in the works.

The CSRD added that work is also continuing on restoring power to evacuated areas, and that all evacuation alerts and orders remain in place.

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On the opposite side of Adams Lake, the Bush Creek East wildfire also remained steady at 1,789 hectares.

It also has a suspected cause of lightning and is also deemed out of control.

Twenty-nine wildland firefighters are battling the blaze, along with helicopter support and 28 pieces of heavy equipment.

In related news, Environment Canada issued a smoky skies bulletin for the Shuswap due to wildfire smoke.

The national weather agency says the region will be “impacted or are likely to be impacted by wildfire smoke over the next 24 hours. Localized smoke near active fires may persist over the next 24 hours, although general improvement in the affected regions is expected.”

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