Ignition on White Rock Lake Fire should allow for containment in week to 10 days

Today’s rain will no doubt have a positive impact on efforts to contain the White Rock Lake wildfire, as will the ignition operation that was held on Monday.

The Vernon area has received showers this morning.

The BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) said the ignition of up to 3,000 hectares of inaccessible terrain in the Six Mile and Irish Creek areas was used to secure the fire’s northest flank and will allow containment to be achieved sooner than if the burn was not held.

“These ignitions worked to secure the northeast perimeters, which allows BC Wildfire to recommend to local authorities that their evacuation orders and alerts may be downgraded much sooner. Containment may now be achieved in the next seven to 10 days versus upwards of six weeks,” the BCWS said on its website.

Fire information officer Forrest Tower says with the lower fire risk, conversations will continue with local governments and the Okanagan Indian Band, about the possibility of lifting the evacuation orders and alerts that are in place.

“It’s looking yes, for sure, in the next week to two weeks, a lot of these areas will be  — we’ll use the word  —  contained and not at a risk of further wildfire spread, so probably some pretty big changes in terms of orders and alerts over thee next week to two weeks timeline,” Tower told Vernon Matters.

Tower said local governments also have to consider other factors when deciding if orders and alerts are lifted.

“The wildfire is one part of it, but in some areas, along Westside Road for example, there are other hazards that still need to be dealt with,  that is sort of outside of the Wildfire Services’ area of expertise, so in terms of making sure that roads are safe to travel on and any sort of remediation of any structure damage.”

Information officer Forrest Tower from the BC Wildfire Service talks about possible changes by the local governments to the current evacuation orders and alerts affecting area residents.

The area where ignitions occurred could continue to burn and produce smoke over the next several days. Crews and aerial resources will remain on site to patrol.

BCWS said significant groundwork and planning occurred over the past two weeks in order to conduct a successful planned ignition.

“The Thunderbirds Unit Crew, Rangers Unit Crew and RAP India (pictured) worked tirelessly to build a large fuel-free area to support ignitions today,” said the BCWS.

The BC Wildfire Service says RAP India was among the groups who worked tirelessly to build a large fuel-free area to support ignitions on the White Rock Lake wildfire (Photo credit: BC Wildfire Service)