Image Credit: S. Duncan

By Aaron Schulze

White Rock Lake Wildfire

White Rock Lake blaze displayed “Rank Four” wildfire activity according to BCWS initial report

Aug 10, 2021 | 3:44 PM

KAMLOOPS — Insight into the BC Wildfire Service’s (BCWS) first moments in response to the White Rock Lake wildfire was provided Tuesday (Aug. 10) afternoon.

During an availability, Rick Manwaring – Deputy Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development – said the White Rock Lake blaze was displaying “Rank Four” wildfire behaviour.

BCWS ranks fire behaviour on a scale of one to six. A Rank Four means a wildfire has an organized flame front, fast rate of spread on the ground, and short-range spotting.

“We don’t put people in front of Rank Four fires,” Manwaring stated. “We make recommendations for evacuation orders and alerts for people to get out of the way. Our initial attack crews were on scene immediately but were diverted from their efforts tactically to evacuate properties in the area, given the threat to life and property. We had a helicopter with bucketing capacity of 1,000 litres and two initial attack crews on scene. New fire starts are showing very aggressive fire behaviour and are growing very quickly. That’s the type of response we’re bringing to these new fire starts.”

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Manwaring says the first report was on July 13 at 3:46 p.m. and BCWS’ initial attack crew arrived within 30 minutes. The first evacuation alert from the Thompson-Nicola Regional District (TNRD) was issued for five properties on July 14 at 1:30 p.m.

On July 16, 213 properties south of Monte Lake were issued an evacuation alert by the TNRD.

When asked if more could have been done to protect structures in Monte Lake from the White Rock Lake wildfire, Manwaring said the evacuation order was given for the area Wednesday (Aug. 4) evening.

The White Rock Lake wildfire jumped Highway 97 and spread through Monte Lake Thursday (Aug. 5) evening.

“We know there was some success, but I don’t have details on all the individual properties,” Manwaring says. “Structural protection assessment experts go in and assess whether properties can be defended… those that can be adequately defended receive structural protection unit installation on them. I don’t have the details on exactly how many properties fit in either category in the Monte Lake area.”

With Rank Six fire behaviour on Aug. 5 due to winds gusting to 60 km/h, Manwaring calls it challenging even for structural protection units.

According to Manwaring, the boundaries of the White Rock Lake wildfire are pressing to the west, north, northeast, and southeast.

“All our active work with our partners right now is putting in guards focuses on those areas, trying to contain the fire,” Manwaring says. “It’s where we’re applying our aircraft resources at this point and time. Thanks to some cooler weather and stable air, we’ve been able to make some really good progress in the last couple of days to begin to contain the fire.”

Manwaring recommends residents to adhere to evacuation alerts and orders, as their anticipated evacuation routes could be locked if they wait beyond the recommended departure time. He expects active fire behaviour as warmer temperatures return at the end of the week.

Since April 1, BCWS has responded to 1,454 wildfires that have burned approximately 652,700 hectares of area. Manwaring says the 10-year average for this time of year is around 905 fires and 140,000 hectares burned.

A “thorough orientation” on the White Rock Lake wildfire will be held on Thursday (Aug. 12) from Vernon.