Lower East Adams Lake wildfire, July 25 (image credit - CFJC Today)

By Michael Reeve

WILDFIRE SEASON 2023

Lower East Adams Lake wildfire giving campers little concern – and incredible views

Jul 25, 2023 | 4:23 PM

KAMLOOPS — Don Miller has been camping at Adams Lake every year for nearly a decade. It just so happens that this year, his favourite spot is smack dab in the middle of two out-of-control wildfires.

“We pulled in and, yeah, we could see a little puff of smoke coming up,” said Miller, who arrived at the campsite the day after the lightning strike that’s believed to have ignited the blaze. “Throughout the days that we’ve been here, we have watched it grow in size. The first day they did have a couple of helicopters coming in and dumping some water up there but the Bush Creek wildfire was burning quite rapidly at that time.”

The Lower Adams Lake Wildfire is currently estimated at 2,000 hectares. The wildfire service is utilizing a modified response due to safety concerns that means no ground personnel are actioning the blaze and aerial resources are used to monitor spread.

“There is very steep and challenging terrain in the area and that is something that is taken into account when look at the way we respond to wildfires,” stated BC Wildfire Service Information Officer Melanie Bibeau.

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While the blaze is giving residents and campers some level of concern, the sights of seeing the mountain alight in the evening have also inspired awe.

“At night, it looks crazy. It almost looks like a volcano. You can see the whole outline, it almost looks like a pencil drawing and at the top you can see the fires. At night, it gets windy at night it flares up a whole ton and looks very cool,” said Mia, visiting with her family from Alberta.

“It’s scary because it could come onto this mountain and come over to us,” added fellow vacationer Alyssa.

Along with the Lower Adams Lake fire, crews are tackling the Bush Creek East wildfire west of the lake. Ground and air resources are fighting the 600 hectare blaze.

“With it being up on top of the mountain, I’m not too worried about it coming down. It takes a lot more effort for the fire to burn down than it does going up. As long as embers don’t start flying this way, we should be fine,” said Miller.

Due to the two fires, multiple properties in both the Thompson Nicola and Cariboo Shuswap Regional Districts have been put on evacuation alert. However, there are currently no evacuation orders.