The Trozzo Creek fire near Winlaw is still out of control and is 742 hectares in size, according to a bulletin issued on July 20 by the BC Wildfire Service.
As of that date, the fire was being fought by 52 firefighters, three helicopters, and seven pieces of heavy equipment.
Reduced visibility was impacting the ability to determine the perimeter of the fire., and the number of hectares are expected to rise as accurate mapping is available.
Strong winds and steep terrain drove the fire up the Trozzo Creek drainage and north into the South Lemon Creek drainage.
“July 19 was a challenging day, as increased winds drove aggressive fire behaviour and caused the fire spot in four areas on the east flank,” the BCWS bulletin states.
“Significant helicopter bucketing action controlled three of the spots, however, one of the spots grew too quickly for crews or aviation resources to contain and it spread into the South Lemon Creek drainage.
“Existing containment lines to the west did hold, despite the very windy day. Today, crews and equipment will start building containment lines on the north side of the Trozzo Creek drainage and open roads into South Lemon Creek to access the areas of new growth. Equipment will keep extending the control line toward the southwest perimeter and ground crews are supporting these control lines with hose lay.”
The fire, started by lightning, was discovered July 9.
There is combined area restriction for this fire and the Mount Ruppel fire, which can be viewed at http://ow.ly/t8uM50FznrG.