The Bear Creek wildfire north of Harrison Hot Springs has not grown significantly between Friday (Aug. 1) and Saturday (Aug. 2).
The B.C. Wildfire Service has removed the wildfire of note status from the Bear Creek fire as of Saturday morning. The fire remains at 124 hectares in size. Two firefighting crews, firefighting officers, a medic unit and danger tree fallers ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½“ a total of 56 people ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½“ continue to work on the fire with the support of three bucket trucks.
Fire behaviour has shown a considerable slowdown between Friday and Saturday thanks to lower temperatures and higher humidity. Crews continue to work on the south flank of the fire; the north flank remains on very steep terrain as bucket helicopters work to keep the fire south of Bear Creek.
Roads remain closed between the 9-km and 20-km mark of Harrison East Forest Service Road. Drivers will find flaggers at the 0-km mark and non-residents will not be allowed through. The Kookipi Forest Service Road in the Nahatalatch Valley is also closed due to Bear Creek wildfire activity. Harrison Lake can still be accessed to the south and north of the road closures, but boaters and campers are asked to keep a large distance between themselves and wildfire response teams, for the interest of public safety and the safety of the first responders.
There are hazards along Harrison East Forest Service Road due to wildfire activity, including danger trees and falling rocks.
An evacuation alert for the North Cascade Bay Area remains in place as of Saturday. An evacuation alert means residents in the North Cascade Bay Area should be prepared to evacuate on short notice; they are not required to evacuate as of Saturday afternoon. The Bear Creek recreation area was evacuated days ago.
There have been a total of seven wildfires in the Agassiz-Harrison area since the beginning of the year with Bear Creek being the largest by far. There are four active wildfires, two of which are under control and one is being held. the Bear Creek wildfire is still considered out of control as of early Saturday afternoon. Four of the fires ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½“ including Bear Creek ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½“ were human-caused while the remaining three were attributed to lightning.
The B.C. Air Quality Index indicates air quality as of early Saturday afternoon remains low-risk at a factor of 1 with expectations the air quality risk will rise to 3 by later Saturday into Sunday. This still qualifies as low risk.
To report wildfires or irresponsible behaviour that could start a wildfire, call 1-800-663-5555 (*5555 from a cell phone) as soon as possible.
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