Harrison Lake blaze doubles in size

The fire burning north of Harrison Hot Springs has doubled in size and is now estimated at 115 hectares, or 1.15 square kilometres. The humancaused fire, which sparked Saturday, is just five per cent contained.

The fire is about 30 kilometres north of Harrison Hot Springs and is about half a kilometre up from the eastern side of Harrison Lake, near the mouth of Big Silver Creek.

There are now 80 firefighters and additional support staff on scene.

There are six helicopters fighting the fire.

“A lot of the fire is on steep slopes,” fire information officer Noelle Kekula said.

“Firefighters are working on the lower section of the fire; air support is working above.”

After a couple days of gusty winds from the south, Kekula said the winds were calmer Tuesday. What wind there has been is pushing the fire and smoke north.

There’s no risk to communities in the Fraser Valley.

“(The fire)’s a long ways away, a lot would have to change,” she said. “Ultimately, we always hope for rain, but rain is not in the forecast.”

Skimmers are taking water from the lake, so boaters are asked to stay clear of the area.

The B.C. Wildfire Service has ordered everyone who doesn’t live or work in the area to leave as the Harrison East Forest Service Road is too narrow to accommodate traffic. People were driving up from Harrison Hot Springs to observe the fire and were making it difficult for firefighters to get to the scene.

There are checkpoints at the 15-kilometre and 42.5-kilometre marks on Harrison East road. There are also checkpoints on Shovel Creek Forest Service Road.

The fire was initially estimated at 60 hectares.