The Chilako fire courtesy BC Wildfire Service
BC Wildfires

Chilako fire contained to just under 1,500 hectares

Jul 7, 2021 | 11:51 AM

PRINCE GEORGE — The BC Wildfire Service says they had notable success battling the Chilako fire Tuesday.

They say the fire has been contained at just under 1,500 hectares in size with crews establishing containment lines around the blaze. Hand-lit burn operations are also being conducted to clean up pockets of unburnt fuel.

The fire is located about 90 kilometres southwest of Prince George and triggered an evacuation alert in the Hanham-Titeown area Tuesday.

There are currently 203 fires burning in BC, including 40 in the Prince George Fire Centre (PGFC).

There are three wildfires of note in the PGFC, including the Chilako fire. The Cutoff Creek fire (G41269) is 1250 hectares and is out of control. Fifty-one firefighters, three helicopters, and 10 pieces of equipment are working to secure the south flank of the fire with aerial support.

The Tentfire Creek fire (G71138) is 715 hectares and is out -of-control. Today there are 24 firefighters, 5 helicopters, and 6 pieces of heavy equipment actioning the fire. Crews will be conducting burn operations over the next several days. This parallel attack method is used to eliminate the fuel between a containment line and the main body of the fire in a controlled way. This decreases the chance of the fire burning up to the containment line in an uncontrolled way and crossing or spotting over the containment line.