The fire as of Friday, April 29 (Image Credit: Columbia-Shuswap Regional District)

By James Peters

Shuswap Wildfire

North Shuswap wildfire up to 18.5 hectares, spreading slowly

May 2, 2022 | 11:48 AM

ANGLEMONT, B.C. — A wildfire that popped up late last week in the North Shuswap is spreading slowly — but the B.C. Wildfire Service says it is a good reminder that people still need to be very careful with their outdoor activities.

The Horseshoe Bay wildfire in the Anglemont area measures at 18.5 hectares as of Monday (May 2).

Fire Information Officer Shaelee Stearns says firefighters made good progress on the blaze in the past 24 hours.

“We were also able to get a line of retardant across the top of the fire last night, which really helps the crews in that rougher terrain,” Stearns told CFJC Today. “There was also a helicopter assisting with delivering equipment to the top of the fire as well as putting water on the fire to support crews while they worked on the flanks.”

Seasonal conditions during the month of May are helping to keep the fire from spreading too quickly.

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“During the day, as soon as those temperatures pick up, we can see a little bit of increased behaviour” said Stearns. “On this fire, it went from a Rank 1 to a Rank 2 — so that’s when you see a bit more active surface fire but still very slow-moving.”

Generally, the fire danger ratings throughout most of the Kamloops Fire Centre are low to moderate, but Stearns warns precipitation values are low for this time of year.

“The Kamloops Fire Centre has received less-than-average amounts of precipitation. This does mean that those deeper fuels are drying out earlier or they haven’t yet really had a chance to green up from over the winter,” she said. “While it still is early spring and we are seeing some precipitation, it’s a good reminder to people — right now there’s no lightning, so a lot of these fires are human-caused — to be extremely cautious.”