Over 100 firefighters from Quebec have joined BCWS crews on the front lines of the White Rock Lake wildfire near Westwold, BC. Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Adam Donnelly

WILDFIRE SEASON

Westwold residents are anxious as White Rock Lake wildfire continues to grow

Jul 26, 2021 | 5:13 PM

WESTWOLD, B.C. — High temperatures and strong winds have combined to grow the White Rock Lake wildfire to over 12,000 hectares. Properties in the unincorporated community of Westwold are under an evacuation order, or alert, which is causing stress and anxiety for residents.

Allan Conquergood has been a business owner in Westwold for the past 16 years. During that time, he’s seen his share of wildfires in the area.

“We’ve seen them, but never this close,” Conquergood says.

Properties on the side of Highway 97 closest to the White Rock Lake Fire are under an evacuation order. On the other side of the highway, there’s an evacuation alert. Stressful times for Westwold residents.

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“Lots of anxiety, wondering what’s going to go next,” Conquergood says. “Hope for everybody’s safety, right?”

High winds and hot temperatures fuelled aggressive fire behaviour over the weekend, which resulted in significant growth of the fire.“Greater than average fire behaviour, which is typical in mid-fire season,” BCWS Fire Information Officer Greg Jonuk explains.

One of the most significant challenges Westwold residents and business owners face right now is getting concrete information on just where the White Rock Lake wildfire is burning and how it’s behaving.

“You listen to what you can on the news. People on Facebook tell you stuff, but you don’t always believe that. It’s hard,” Conquergood says. “You don’t know if it’s exactly six kilometres, 10 kilometres [away]. You’re always wondering what the next step is.”

However, progress on the fire could be imminent. Over 100 firefighters and 12 support personnel from Quebec have entered the fray, as of Monday morning. They’ll join the 139 firefighters already battling the blaze.

“That’s a great confidence boost to our crews on the line,” Jonuk says. “One-hundred Quebec firefighters. They’re highly trained, very experienced folks, and they also come with 12 support staff, so they help out our tactical and our strategic operations. They help very tired crews on the lines in various capacities.”

For now, the plan for Westwold residents is to wait and watch — and be ready to leave at a moment’s notice should the fire make a run towards the community.

“I hope everybody stays safe, and I wish everybody the best on this one,” Conquergood says.