Cool overnight temperature and humidity expected to slow spread of wildfire near Lytton

As expected, overnight weather helped dampen fire behaviour — the fire remains at 1500 hectares in size.

Sunday (July 17), temperatures in Lytton are expected to reach the mid 20s with winds gusting to 40 kilometres per hour. An insignificant amount of rain is also anticipated for the area.

Two more helicopters will be arriving to fight the fire Sunday afternoon.

EARLIER: LYTTON, B.C. — Cooler temperatures and additional moisture in the air is expected to have helped keep the wildfire burning near Lytton, B.C. at a less aggressive pace, according to an update posted by the B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) Saturday (July 16) around 10 p.m.

The fire, burning 1.7 kilometres northwest of Lytton on the west side of the Fraser River, remains at 1500 hectares in size and is still classified as out of control. BCWS says the weather should have kept the fire burning at rank one and two behavior.

“By the end of the daytime operational period on July 16, crews on the southern flank of the fire were able to re-establish two helipads used from a previous wildfire,” said the update.

“In the north, crews began to scout a contingency line for fuel free construction two drainages north of the head of the fire.”

The west side of the fire is moving upslope in steep and difficult to access terrain, according to a Tweet posted by BCWS.

(Photo credit: B.C. Wildfire Service).

Overnight, one BCWS initial attack crew and 10 firefighters from Lytton First Nation remained onsite to continue extinguishing residual fire along the northern flank near the Fraser River.

In total, three unit crews, four initial attack crews, 19 Lytton First Nation firefighters, an incident management team, three water tenders, eight helicopters and other operational and support staff are supporting the response.

An evacuation order remains for the Thompson Nicola Regional District’s (TNRD) Electoral Area “I”, also known as Blue Sky Country. An evacuation alert remains for Highway 12 and west of Fraser River. More updates on evacuation alerts and orders can be found on the TNRD’s website.

by Stephanie Swensrude

Cool overnight temperature and humidity expected to slow spread of wildfire near Lytton

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