Image Credit: Columbia Shuswap Regional District

By James Peters

Bush Creek East

Bush Creek East hot spot flares up near Sorrento; BCWS expects wind to increase activity

Sep 15, 2023 | 1:55 PM

SORRENTO, B.C. — More evidence that the record-breaking wildfire season is not quite done with the BC Interior.

The Shuswap Emergency Program says crews are working on a hot spot that is throwing off a lot of smoke in the area of Sorrento and Notch Hill.

B.C. Wildfire Service officials say the spot that flared up is within the perimeter of the Bush Creek East wildfire.

There are 42 wildfire service personnel in the area, with support from heavy equipment and water tenders.

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Last week, more than 10,000 Shuswap residents were allowed to return to their homes after the Bush Creek East wildfire devastated communities in the region.

Despite residents returning and beginning the long road to recovery, the more-than-43,000-hectare blaze remains a fire of note and classified as out of control. With temperatures forecast to be near 30 Celsius, and a potential shift in winds, the B.C. Wildfire Service is expecting increased fire behavior this weekend.

“What that means for our wildfire is we are seeing this pattern of warming and drying and now we are adding winds to the equation. We are expecting wildfire activity to pick up particularly on the Bush Creek East Wildfire,” said Fire Information Officer Aydan Coray. “There is still a lot of deep burning fuels, root systems, organic material that is quite thick, that is going to be burning until we see significant season ending precipitation.”

While the fire is now considered being held and evacuation alerts have been lifted, was noted that the fire protection order in the vicinity of the Ross Moore Lake wildfire south of Kamloops was updated as of 12:00 p.m. Friday. Coray stated that the new order is will remain in place until October 3.

“We are extending the Ross Moore Lake wildfire area restriction order. Which is basically a restriction around the wildfire area to help protect public safety as well as fire suppression activities. This order is being enacted particularly for safety reasons. One thing to note that this restriction area coming into effect at noon is smaller than the previous order area,” said Coray.