Despite the relentless heat and dry conditions of July, a wildfire near the Ecstall River remains under observation, causing little concern for the Northwest Fire Centre. Located 67 km west of Kitimat, the fire has consumed 113 hectares of forest, as of the last inspection July 11.
鈥淭he fire is currently in a monitor response, which means that BC Wildfire Service is observing and analyzing the fire but not immediately suppressing it,鈥� said Kaitlyn Bailey, a fire information officer for the BC Wildfire Service鈥檚 Northwest Fire Centre. 鈥淲e are primarily monitoring the fire using maps of thermal activity. If we see changes, we will conduct air patrols.鈥�
The fire, believed to have been caused by lighting, was discovered July8. It's listing changed from Out of Control July 26 to Being Held, meaning its unlikely to spread beyond its 113-km perimeter.
Bailey air patrols on other fires and lightning impacts in the area will check on the Ecstall River wildfire when possible.
The fire service is aware of a few properties near the blaze, but none are currently threatened.
The region is otherwise faring well this wildfire season. Since April 1, there have been 45 wildfires within the Northwest Fire Centre, compared to 208 by this time last year. The average number of wildfires for this period over the past decade is 68.
The region has experienced cooler, wetter weather in June, resulting in only 11 new fires across that month. Despite much of July being hot and dry, there have been minimal new starts in the first half of the month from either lightning or human-caused activity.
鈥淥n July 19 we received significant lightning and since then we鈥檝e had 15 new fires. However, our Initial Attack Crews responded quickly, and were able to call eight of these new fires out and move an additional three fires into the Under Control status,鈥� Bailey said.
Two wildfires near Terrace, covering 8.2 hectares at Pontoon Creek and 215 hectares at Oliver Creek, are both contained and held, respectively. Both fires are suspected to be human-caused, and investigations into their origins are ongoing.