Fire crews are working to contain the wildfire threatening Argenta.
The Regional District of Central Kootenay (RDCK) said in a Tuesday update that the Argenta Creek Cluster in the Purcell Wilderness Conservancy has grown to 14,904 hectares, but BC Wildfire Service is having success building a perimeter around it.
Crews have put up guards on the south side of Hamill Creek as well as contingency guards from Argenta Creek to Carter Creek. Air tankers have also put down retardant over the fire as well as to close off down-slope growth.
The fire is still considered out of control. Residents of Argenta and Johnsons Landing were ordered to evacuate the area on July 25.
The Regional District of East Kootenay announced Tuesday that it was deploying five firefighters from Elk Valley and South Country Rural Fire and Rescue Service to help in Argenta. The crew will focus on setting up sprinkler protection systems.
“We know how important the work that our teams are doing is, and the difference it makes for those people living closest to the fires knowing every effort is being made to help protect their homes from wildfire," said RDEK protective services manager Christina Carbrey in a statement. "We are so grateful to our members who, without hesitation, answered the call."
In the RDCK, 1,310 properties are on evacuation order and 713 properties on evacuation alert.
There were 83 wildfires in the Southeast Fire Centre as of Monday, 64 of which are listed as out of control. The Southeast Fire Centre extends from the U.S. border to Mica Dam, and from the Okanagan west side of the Monashee Mountains to the B.C.-Alberta border.
Two entire municipalities — Silverton and Slocan, and their surrounding rural properties — have also been evacuated because of a group of fires being fought jointly, known as the Slocan Lake Complex.
That group is made up of the Aylwin, Komonko, Wilson Creek and Ponderosa fires on the east side of the lake and the Nemo Creek and Mulvey Creek fires across the lake in Valhalla Provincial Park.
The Aylwin and Komonko fires just south of Silverton were a combined 2,925 hectares as of July 30, according to BC Wildfire Service's online map. The Nemo Creek fire meanwhile is 4,694 hectares, while Mulvey Creek is 1,098 hectares.
The Village of New Denver is in a precarious position.
As of July 30 it had been under an evacuation alert for six days, and is surrounded by evacuated areas: the Wilson Creek fire evacuation to the north, and the Komonko and Aywin fire evacuations to the south. Wilson Creek however is now listed as under control.
Consequently, New Denver is serving as an unofficial hub of activities in the area including for crews fighting the various fires.
Highway 6 is closed from one kilometre south of New Denver to 11 km south of Slocan.