B.C. firefighters on alert over 2 large blazes
Last Updated: Tuesday, September 5, 2006 | 5:26 AM PT
CBC News
Firefighters in British Columbia were monitoring two blazes late Monday, one of which had crossed into the province from Washington state and an even larger one which continued to burn just south of the border.
The Tatoosh fire that crossed the border over the weekend was estimated to be 5,700 hectares in size, 1,000 of which were now in British Columbia, B.C.’s Fire Management Team said in a news release.
No homes or structures were threatened as of late Monday, officials said, but RCMP officers were going door to door to warn people in the hilly rural region.
A lightning strike on Aug. 22 started the fire that continues to burn in hot and dry conditions.
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The fire, which was started by a lightning strike on Aug. 22, was near Manning Park about 25 kilometres east of Hope and 180 kilometres east of Vancouver.
The other blaze, the Tripod Complex fire, continued to burn about four kilometres south of the Canada-U.S. border. The fire is near Cathedral Park, not far from Keremeos, B.C.
"We are currently monitoring this fire," B.C. fire information officer Colette Fauchon told CBC.ca by phone late Monday.
The Tatoosh fire, which measured roughly 5,700 hectares in size on Monday morning, has moved from Washington state into B.C. near Manning Park, about 25 kilometres east of Hope and 180 kilometres east of Vancouver.
(CBC)
Officials have sent a fire management team to the town of Oliver, B.C., about 30 kilometres south of Penticton, to monitor the situation and be ready in case the fire crosses the border.
The Tripod Complex fire covers about 60,000 hectares, officials said, and firefighters have contained more than half of it.
"There is quite a bit of smoke in the area," Fauchon said.
The smoke was so dense, officials said in a press release, that they were having difficulty deploying firefighters and determining the exact location of the fire's perimeter.
'Weather isn't helping'
"With fires of these size it can be well into winter before they are officially put out," Fauchon said. "A few days of heavy rain would be a wonderful resource for us."
"Our weather isn't helping. It's hot and dry. We have no precipitation for the next week."
Canadian and American fire officials signed a protocol agreement Sunday on fighting the fire. The Americans will work in a unified command with the B.C. Forest Service, said B.C. fire information officer Jeff Moore.
Officials have set up a "red zone" — an area up to five kilometres on each side of the border so firefighters from each country can enter to battle the blaze.
"The U.S. has struggled with their resources," Fauchon said. "They have had a very busy year trying to deal with these two fires."
