Back burning practice heats up assembly in Winlaw during public information session
By Timothy Schafer Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The back burn was on the front burner on Sunday evening as wildfire officials kept the mid-Slocan Valley residents appraised of the frontline battle to save homes and properties from two major wildfires burning in the valley.
B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS), RCMP and Regional District of Central Kootenay (RDCK) emergency operations centre officials met with residents in an open meeting on Sunday night at Winlaw Elementary School, with several hundred people again packing the gymnasium like they had one week ago to ask questions and hear the state of the fires in the Slocan Lake Complex.
The Ponderosa wildfire was the main blaze of concern — burning south of the village of Slocan — with the Mulvey Creek wildfire (west of Slocan) receiving a prescribed burn. The Komonko Creek wildfire burning south of Silverton was still significant but was being managed.
Claire Allen, deputy manager of Wildfire Prevention with the B.C. Wildfire Service, said the prescribed burn planned for the 959-hectare Ponderosa fire this week had to be postponed.
“The persistent hot and dry weather has continued to dry out fuels, making them ignite more easily and increasing fire behaviour,” she said. “There has been some growth and the size will be updated when visibility allows.”
From July 31 to August 2, BCWS crews conducted planned ignitions on the Mulvey Creek wildfire, with the intent to remove available fuel between the fire perimeter and the existing guard, as well as preventing uncontrolled eastward growth in advance of an increase in temperatures and erratic wind.
Allen said the ignition went from Slocan Lake south to Gwillim Creek and then east to the established guard, with the last 500 metres of the guard not catching due to high humidity levels.
“The fire has stayed within the east containment line with no spotting across the guard,” she said. “Crews will continue to directly attack the fire from the guard, searching for and extinguishing remaining hot spots.”
After the official decree on the three fires still listed as out-of-control, the public information session — in particular the question period — in Winlaw mirrored the fires’ behaviour to some degree. Questions were rare as many people took the opportunity to instead deliver their account of the situation, espouse rumours, level accusations and occasionally grandstand at the expense of facts and public discourse.
The back burn (prescribed burn) on Mulvey Creek — on the western side of Slocan Lake in Valhalla Provincial Park — had many people heated up enough to speak out against it. The prescribed burn was burning at a rapid rate, with some people noticing flames burning over 200 feet high, and the sound of the blaze could be heard from over three kilometres away.
Some of the online questions made claims that there was looting taking place in the Lemon Creek area, located eight kilometres south of Slocan. An RCMP officer at the meeting said the Slocan Valley detachment had received no reports of break-ins or looting in any home within the evacuation order zone, even on Red Mountain Road.
Several comments painted a picture of doom for the western neighbourhood section of Slocan — which has been at the highest risk — but officials noted a back burn, which took away fuel below the wildfire on the Valhalla Mountains’ slopes, had some effect on the 1,167-hectare out-of-control Mulvey Creek wildfire.
As a result, several people were unable to ask specific questions about the firefighting operations in the allotted time. After the meeting several people asked BCWS for a special meeting with people closer to the Ponderosa wildfire in order to answer specific unanswered questions.
“Sadly, those of us who are local, have properties that are in a vulnerable position, and have valid concerns were left without answers because a handful of unstable individuals made it about themselves,” noted one person in the online comments after the meeting.
The RDCK also revealed it had received reports of residents — that remained behind in the Slocan Lake wildfire complex evacuation order zone — getting in firefighters’ way.
“Residents who have chosen to remain in the … area are interfering with firefighting operations by entering active work zones where heavy equipment and crews are building guards,” said RDCK Community Sustainability manager Dan Seguin.
People who stay behind and ignore the order to remain in the area must stay on their own property and not travel to other properties or locations within the evacuation order area, he added.
The Slocan Lake fire complex map — B.C. Wildfire Service.
Pre-ignition postponed
Weather on Monday was not suitable for the planned ignition operation on the Ponderosa wildfire, instead the BCWS revealed it would continue preparations in case an opportunity to start the fire came about later this week.
“It is unlikely that ignition operations will occur on the Ponderosa wildfire before Thursday,” Allen noted. “This operation is a crucial step toward containment of the west flank of the Ponderosa FSR fire.”
The fire continues to back down the mountain slope and has reached the machine guard in certain areas, she pointed out.
“Small-scale hand ignitions will be used to remove available fuel to reduce the risk of spotting over the guard,” Allen added.
Both the Komonko Creek and Ponderosa wildfires will “continue to back down steep slopes and active flame will be visible.” Allen said fire behaviour picked up when the wind picked up on Monday afternoon, but some areas received up to two millimetres of rain on Sunday, lowering the intensity of the fires.
Water bombing has taken place since noon on Sunday on the Ponderosa fire, as the thick smoke abated somewhat and pilots were able to see, hitting just below the fire with helicopters so water would not wash out burning debris and create high winds that could blow embers away and create more fire ignitions.
On the east flank of the Mulvey Creek fire crews were mopping up along guards out to 50 feet and falling dangerous trees. On the south flank, crews were using small scale ignitions to remove fuel along the guards, working to tie into the Mulvey Creek drainage, and assessing options for direct attack.
Heavy equipment on site were locating a line and building a guard along the south flank of the fire, while structure protection crews continued to conduct structure protection on areas of concern.
