Two wildfires have been reported as of approximately 2:20 p.m. on Saturday, April 19 on the outskirts of Clearwater. The local Clearwater Fire Department crew is on scene along with BCWFS crews. One fire is located 2.5 kilometres up Road 2 and can be seen from the Clearwater Eco Depot, the other fire is approximately 3 kilometres from the first fire, off the Burnell Forest Service Road near the area known as Sunshine Valley.
At 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Clearwater mayor, Merlin Blackwell told Black Press, “There has been no lightning activity in our area lately, and the Wells Gray Community Forest has confirmed with me that they have done no work or burns in that area this year. I expect it to be declared a human caused fire as that is the default when no other factors can explain it.”
The District of Clearwater (DOC) website also reports that one fire, the Burnell FSR fire, is within the municipal boundaries while the second fire off Road 2 is "just outside" of the district's boundary. The BC Wildfire Service has a crew attending to the Road 2 fire while the Clearwater Fire Department team is actioning the Burnell FSR fire.
The DOC also states that a third wildfire that ignited within the district on April 18 was successfully extinguished by a property owner.
The district is requesting the public's cooperation at this time, asking that residents stay away from the area and allow local firefighters and BCWFS teams to action the fires "without interference" and thanks the public for their cooperation.
The statement advises that the district will continue to monitor the situation closely and provide updates as they become available. If conditions change, the public will be notified through official channels including the Voyent Alert.
The surgeryitaly has contacted BC Wildfire Service for more information and currently, there is no update or information on the provincial wildfire map.
Updates to follow...
