Two major wildfires within southern British Columbia have been classified as “ongoing”

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Vancouver — Two of British Columbia’s largest wildfires have been categorized as “pending” after being out of control for weeks and driving people out of their homes.

BC Wildfire Service said Thursday that a fire on Lake Sparks, about 900 square kilometers, burning north of Kamloops was contained.

A 635-square-kilometer Tremont Creek flame burning just outside Ashcroft is also being held, and the service states that structural conservation resources have been removed in areas that are not at risk. rice field.

At a press conference Thursday, BC Wildfire Service’s Fire Operations Manager Todd Nessman said:

“In the last two days, there have been 11 (new) fires, all of which were relatively small.”

The Canadian Ministry of the Environment predicts that most parts of the state will be cold, with cloudy weather and light rain.

However, Nessman said some of the notable wildfires, such as the White Rock Lake flames, still present challenges.

According to Nessman, the crew is working to suffocate the “deep-burning fuel” that persists across the eastern flank of a devastating fire that has been classified as out of control on the western side of Lake Okanagan. ..

He said the firefighter was injured after going down the hill while fighting the flames.

“All the signs are that he’s not as serious as we were initially concerned about, but he’s being evaluated by professional medical staff.”

Although not serious, Nessman said he had “many injuries” this year.

“The danger is there,” he said.

“We were very lucky. We made a close call, but there were no serious life-changing injuries by our staff, as I classify. Quite a few. There was a small variety. “

According to the service, eight square kilometers of fire burned near West Kelowna at the end of Wednesday, the wind blew and remained classified as out of control.

There are more than 3,400 firefighters from British Columbia and more than 400 firefighters from outside the state supporting firefighting activities.

Australian firefighters in British Columbia will return this weekend as the fire subsides, Nessman said. He added that some of the Northwest Territories firefighters will be back next week.

There are about 240 wildfires in British Columbia, and 22 wildfires are considered to be noteworthy. This means they are very noticeable or pose a potential threat to public safety.

The state still has about 45 evacuation orders and 90 evacuation alerts.

The state has spent about $ 400 million this year in the fight against fire, Nessman said.

In 2017, the state spent $ 649 million to fight a record wildfire. The following year, $ 615 million was spent when another record of burnt area was set.

According to Nessman, this season hasn’t reached the same amount as burnt land and cash spent.

“We are not in the record realm.”

Hina Alam

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