1 down, 1 to go
Thomas Creek fire now ‘being held,’ leaving Nk’Mip Creek as only fire of note in region
Six weeks after it sent up a menacing cloud of smoke over the South Okanagan, the Thomas Creek wildfire’s status was downgraded Tuesday to being held.
The 10,600-hectare blaze near Okanagan Falls had been classified as “out of control since its discovery July 11.
From a technical perspective, being held means “sufficient suppression action has been taken that the fire is not likely to spread beyond existing or predetermined boundaries under the prevailing and forecasted conditions,” according to the BCWS website.
From a practical perspective, it marks an important milestone for firefighting crews.
“It’s definitely a good point to get a fire like this to being held,” said BC Wildfire Service spokeswoman Shaelee Stearns, “but it doesn’t mean the work is necessarily done for it.”
Stearns said the BCWS is still mopping up and monitoring the fire – and may have to do so until snow arrives to finish the job.
The fire, believed to be human-caused, ignited in the hills above Skaha Lake a few kilometres northeast of Okanagan Falls. It then marched north and east, triggering an evacuation order for 77 properties and an evacuation alert for 627 more.
No homes were reported lost to the fire, the response to which was aided by members of the Canadian Armed Forces.
Some of those soldiers have since been moved south to the Nk’Mip Creek fire, which has charred 20,000 hectares in the hills east of Osoyoos and Oliver.
Things are also looking good on that fire, with the BCWS recommending Tuesday that the last remaining evacuation order, which covers 123 properties at the Mount Baldy ski resort, be downgraded to an alert. Thousands of people were under order or alert after the fire started July 20.