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Shuswap wildfire fighters continue to battle temperatures and wind

Overnight dew helping recovery but fuel still burning off within fire perimeter
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Firefighters hose down a spot within the Bush Creek East wildfire perimeter. (BCWS photo)

Weather remains a large factor in the fight against the Bush Creek East wildfire.

BC Wildfire Service’s Sept. 2 morning update highlights a detailed weather report, stating a ridge is pushing over the area on Saturday allowing high temperatures, three or four degrees higher than Friday, to warm the region. Some pressure changes and light winds will also influence the fire’s behaviour.

Sunday should see a drying trend, but temperatures could cool into the high teens and winds are forecasted to be light but slightly increased, with Monday also remaining cool according to BCWS.

“Although ‘recoveries’ (dew on the ground) have been generally excellent overnight, residents will see fuels burning within the perimeter of the fire,” reads the update. Unburned fuels within the perimeter continue to burn off but Structure Protection Crews are bordering homes and infrastructure as needed.

Hazards like dangerous trees remain a risk in all fire areas, said BCWS, and as winds increase slightly on Sunday, trees could become more unstable and create areas where particular care will need to be taken.

In the Little Shuswap area, mopping up work continues along guards that tie into Banshee Road, while guards are patrolled along Banshee Lake. Between 400 and Cougars Roads, a 50-foot backline is being mopped up and tightened. A bladder for water delivery is being established west of Bruhn Creek, for prevention of fire spread. north and west of Bruhn Creek.

Crews are also mopping up at Onyx Creek and Meadow Creek.

All crews in the Scotch Creek/Lee Creek division have been moved to the southwest corner to tighten the perimeter along Bush Creek, building a machine guard and using hand crews, said BCWS.

In the Celista/Magna Bay area, work is concentrated on the northeast corner above Magna Bay and machine guard segments are being finished.

In Turtle Valley/Sorrento, hand guards on the south of Turtle Valley are being monitored and hose lays are happening to the north. A machine guard is being built from Sorrento to Turtle Valley over Black Mountain. Crews are working to extinguish hot spots near Fredrickson Road and homes in the area are being protected by an in-progress hose lay.

Home monitoring and assessments continue and sprinklers are being demobilized throughout the region.

Updates to come as information becomes available.

Read more: ‘There’s no quick answer’: Shuswap community questions wildfire officials

Read more: Back to school delayed for North Shuswap students due to wildfire


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rebecca.willson@saobserver.net

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Rebecca Willson

About the Author: Rebecca Willson

I took my first step into the journalism industry in November 2022 when I moved to Salmon Arm to work for the Observer and Eagle Valley News. I graduated with a journalism degree in December 2021 from MacEwan University in Edmonton.
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