More wind expected to fan flames of fires threatening B.C. communities
WILLIAMS LAKE, B.C. — Crews started controlled fires west of Williams Lake, B.C., on Thursday in an all-out effort to protect the city of about 11,000 people.
Back-burning is a way of basically fighting fire with fire, said Kevin Skrepnek, chief information officer with the BC Wildfire Service.
“Controlled fires, kind of on the perimeter to starve out any fuel that the fire might get into over the next few days, so that was certainly happening west of Williams Lake,” he explained.
He said there was concern that the fire near Williams Lake, and many others burning in the Cariboo region, could grow as winds were expected to pick up again for most of southern B.C.