8:45 p.m update: While Fire Information Officer Heather Rice says crews did have a pretty good day again on the Elephant Hill Fire, there were challenges on the south west flank on the west side of Highway 97.
“The south west flank is where we will be focussing our night crews tonight to try and get a handle on that west flank,” she says.
Growth on that front, as well as elsewhere, has pushed the Elephant Hill fire to an estimated 117,170 hectares.
On the north flank of the fire, it is about 12 km away from Green Lake, says Rice, and a structural protection unit has been placed in the Young Lake area, joining others along the Highway 97 corridor.
The fire camp has relocated from 100 Mile House to Clinton following successful back burns in the area.
“The drive back and forth was a little bit tough on the operations team and now that we’ve completed most of the primary burns to the east and south of Clinton, logistically it just felt better to come back to this location,” says Rice.
While she says that area is stable for now, “if we get a change or funny winds or really gusty winds — because of course the fire is not out within the perimeter of the fire — gusty winds could cause some concerns,” she says. “Currently, we are feeling pretty good about those areas east and south of Clinton.
Light winds are expected to continue to blow from the north, says Rice, although they are forecasting the possibility of winds shifting after tomorrow.
“Tomorrow it’s fairly similar to what we’ve had the last couple of days, relatively light northerly winds which are certainly helping with our north flank but it is creating some increased activity in our southern flanks,” she says.
“Crews continue to work hard, to focus on the work they are doing and to stay safe,” says Rice.
Original story: Last night’s burns on the Clinton side of the Elephant Hill fire were very successful, according to Assistant Fire Information Officer Terry Murphy.
There are 457 firefighters, 89 structural protection personnel, 23 helicopters and 105 pieces of heavy equipment working on the fire, says Murphy.
He says it was “relatively quiet” overnight.
“Anytime the weather is favourable, there’ll be controlled burns. I can’t say though what they’re doing right now. They’re always gearing up for controlled burns and it just is weather dependent.”
The fire camp is moving from 100 Mile House back to Clinton today, says Murphy.