Davis Lake wildfire near Mission being held at 215 hectares

The Davis Lake wildfire north of Mission is being held at 215 hectares.

BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) told Black Press on Wednesday (July 26) that the blaze is no longer out of control or a wildfire of note.

“Being held” status is reserved for fires that aren’t expected to spread further. Firefighters from Coastal Fire Centre remain on scene, with 11 personnel responding as of Wednesday morning.

“Crews are completing mop-up activities and patrolling the fire to ensure that all hotspots are extinguished,” Coastal Fire says.

According to BCWS, crews continue to make good progress and are working to establish a 25 to 100-foot blackline along the northeast flank of the fire.

“In fire suppression, a blackline denotes a condition where there is no unburned material between the fireline and the fire edge,” the BCWS website reads.

Coastal Fire information officer Kyla Preto predicted on Monday that rain and cooler conditions early in the week should help to reduce fire behaviour, but wouldn’t be enough to extinguish it.

“It’s a general reprieve for our firefighters,” Preto said. “The rain and cooler conditions do help reduce fire behaviour but we’re still in drought conditions. We would need to see some significant rainfall for it to have any meaningful impact on the fire situation. It’s not going to put anything out.”

Planned burns started on the Davis Lake fire on July 14 to bring it to workable ground. The location provided firefighters with challenging terrain that allowed the fire to spread, including steep slopes, danger trees and unstable rock.

The fire was discovered on July 5 at approximately 8 p.m. just 0.5 km north of Davis Lake and 18 km north of Mission and is believed to be caused by human activity.

The blaze was six hectares when first discovered before growing to 38 hectares by July 7, 110 hectares by July 11, 150 hectares by July 16 and 215 hectares by Monday (July 24).

Lost Creek Forest Service Road remains closed in relation to the fire and there are no current evacuation orders for the incident.

With wildfires spreading throughout the province, Coastal Fire says heavy equipment and helicopters previously at Davis Lake have been diverted to other fires.

A ban from Coastal Fire on campfires, fireworks and more was reinstated on July 7.

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