Update 1:30 p.m.: The Elephant Hill (Ashcroft) fire is at 30 per cent contained, according to the BC Wildfire Service
Estimated at 53,600 hectares, ground crews and heavy equipment will continue to focus on building fuel breaks in an effort to protect property and areas of value near to the fire.
Cooler weather yesterday decreased fire behaviour, says BC Wildfire, which allowed crews to advance control lines and containment on the southeast flank.
Temperatures are expected to continue within the next few days, however the service reminds the public the fire is still out of control.
There will be an area restriction implemented at approximated 3 p.m. today to keep public away from the fire and crews safe. RCMP will be actively monitoring the restricted area by air and are controlling access by road through patrols and road blocks.
The area remains smokey.
Original story: There are relatively few updates on the Elephant Hill fire (formerly know as Ashcroft Reserve), according to Fire Information Officer, Mike McCulley.
“Basically there’s not a lot of change, we know the fire hardly grew at all yesterday which is great news. Today the focus is exactly the same as yesterday, just trying to reinforce those same areas I talked about.”
Related: “Huge progress today” on Ashcroft fire.
“The challenge right now is the smoke. We’re going to have a tough time putting aircraft in the sky today because it’s so smoky and that tends to slow things down a little bit. If we don’t have aircraft, we can’t have regressed for our crew and we can’t do heli-bucketing. So, we’ll have to watch how that goes through the day today.