UPDATE 3:53 p.m.
Two wildfires burning north of Spences Bridge are now estimated to have ballooned to 285 hectares and 249 hectares in size following overnight growth.
BCWS fire information officer Taylor Colman said helicopters were out earlier on Tuesday to get an updated size of the fires, which were expected to have grown over Monday night.
"Most of the growth was yesterday, we just couldn't get the size update because of the visibility and the smoke. So when the helicopter got in from doing the reconnaissance, we got a better size update," Colman said.
The Teit Creek wildfire, located about 5.5 kilometres north of Spences Bridge, is now listed at an estimated 249 hectares, up from the 11-hectare estimate on Monday.
The fire is yet to see any ground crews work the blaze due to steep and rocky terrain presenting safety concerns for ground personnel.
Slightly north, about 7.5 kilometres north of Spences Bridge, the Shetland Creek wildfire out of control wildfire was estimated to be 50 hectares earlier on Tuesday but is now estimated to be 285 hectares in size.
On Monday, fire crews were forced to pull away from the blaze and reassess where it would be safest and most effective to operate due to an increase in fire behaviour. However, two initial attack crews have returned to the site on Tuesday.
"They were just assessing for what would be some more achievable objectives now with how the fire is behaving, and where the perimeter is currently," Colman said.
Four helicopters are currently responding to both wildfires and are continuing to bucket hot spots.
BCWS said heightened fire behaviour is expected Tuesday due to high temperatures and fast wind speeds drying out fuels and increasing the fire’s rate of spread.
"If we get any winds, that will certainly fuel the fires — hard to predict to how much growth and exactly where it is," Colman said.
"The winds right now are out of the south, and if we get some gustiness that will definitely influence where the fire spreads and the fire behaviour, but that's to be seen on site."
The Cooks Ferry Indian Band issued an evacuation order Tuesday morning due to “imminent danger" posed by the fires.
Colton Davies, Thompson-Nicola Regional District Emergency Operations Centre information officer, told Castanet Kamloops no evacuation alerts and orders have been issued at this point, but they are in touch with the BCWS and keeping tabs on the fire “hourly.”
“We’re not at a point of needing evacuation alerts just yet for areas that are near the Spences Bridge wildfires,” Davies said.
He said the TNRD has been informed by the BCWS that both fires are currently burning north and northwest and uphill and away from TNRD properties, which are still several kilometres away.
Davies said there are a couple hundred properties in Spences Bridge and Venables Valley — the two closest communities to the fires.
He said the winds in the immediate, 24-hour forecast are not expected to push the flames towards those properties, which are east and southeast of the fire.
TNRD Electoral Area I (Blue Sky Country) director Tricia Thorpe told Castanet she drove through the area to touch base with residents and get a look at the fires for herself.
“They’re getting big,” Thorpe said of the fires, noting she heard some ash had fallen in Venables Valley yesterday.
She said she's encouraging residents to continue to watch for updates from the BCWS, move flammable items away from your homes and pack a bag and be ready to go at a moments notice. She also advised that anyone with animals to have them ready to be moved out in the event of an alert because it can be difficult to do so once an order is issued.
A third out of control wildfire is listed at 0.1 hectares and is continuing to burn Tuesday as well. As of Tuesday afternoon, one initial attack crew was responding to the small blaze.
Further north, an estimated 2.3 hectare blaze, around 18 kilometres southwest of Ashcroft, is currently being held by BCWS. To the south, the 1.5 hectare Stein Valley wildfire west of Lytton remains out of control and two initial attack crews are responding.
All five fires are believed to have been sparked by lightning.
UPDATE: 1:46 p.m.
The Cooks Ferry Indian Band has issued an evacuation order due to wildfires burning north of Spences Bridge.
The band issued the order for its Nicoelton reserve Tuesday morning “due to imminent danger” posed by the fires. Reserve residents are advised to leave their homes immediately. Other band reserves — IR5, IR 5A and 19 are on evacuation alert, meaning they may need to leave at a moment’s notice.
Fire information officer Taylor Colman said helicopters are out Tuesday trying to get an updated size for two of those fires, which are expected to have grown over Monday night.
“We are expecting to see an increase in size once the helicopters are done their reconnaissance flight,” Colman said.
The largest of the three wildfires near Spences Bridge is burning 7.5 kilometres away from the community. It is currently estimated to be 50 hectares in size, and is burning along a ridge top.
Colman said fire crews had to pull back from that fire on Monday and reassess where it would be safest and most effective for crews to operate from due to the increase in fire behaviour.
“Today, we've got two crews out there, just assessing and continuing to see what might be feasible and safe for ground resources,” Colman said.
She said an 11-hectare fire is burning to the south, located 5.5 km away from Spences Bridge. This fire is yet to see any ground crews attack it, and is expected to have grown as well.
Colman said ground crews have not been able to access that fire as it is burning in rocky and steep terrain, and its size will be reassessed sometime Tuesday afternoon.
While there has been a lull in ground crews attacking those two fires, Colman says helicopters have continued to bucket water to both.
Colman said neither fire is threatening structures at the moment, but she acknowledged the Cooks’s Ferry band has issued its own evacuation order.
“No structures [are] currently threatened that is resulting in a more broad evacuation order,” Colman said.
She said the forest fire fuels have been very hot and dry over the past two weeks, making them more susceptible to ignition.
The third fire near Spences Bridge also continues to burn out of control. It is located south of the other two fires, and is listed at 0.1 hectares in size.
Meanwhile a 2.3. hectare wildfire located 18 kilometres southwest of Ashcroft is now considered held by the BCWS, while the 1.5 hectare Stein Valley wildfire west of Lytton remains burning out of control. Colman said two initial attack crews were flown to that fire by helicopter and they are working to contain that fire, which hasn’t seen growth in a few days.
All five fires are believed to have been started by lightning.
The Kamloops area is in the midst of a heat wave, with temperatures expected to hit up to 40 C.
ORIGINAL: 6:41 a.m.
One of a series of out of control wildfires burning near Spences Bridge continues to spread.
A lightning caused fire discovered on Friday grew to 50 hectares from 10 hectares earlier in the day on Monday. It is located approximately 7.5 kilometres north of Spences Bridge.
Three helicopters were working to contain the fire yesterday, but BC Wildfire Service fire information officer Olive Norris-Leite said ground crews were pulled back to their safety zone. The fire showed Rank 5 behaviour Monday afternoon.
Another nearby fire, about 5.5 km north of Spences Bridge, remained at 11 hectares, while the smaller Teit Creek South fire remained at less than a hectare. A 1.5 hectare fire is burning 2 km south of Stein Valley in the Lytton area.
The only other fire listed as out of control in the Kamloops Fire Centre is at Wap Creek, south of Three Valley Gap. The 4.2-hectare blaze was discovered Monday and is believed to have been caused by lightning.
