Vancouver Island wildfire now ‘being held’

NANAIMO (NEWS 1130) – Cooler conditions have helped firefighters make progress on a few major wildfires burning in B.C., including a fast-moving blaze on Vancouver Island.

The Mt. Hayes fire, which has been burning between Nanaimo and Ladysmith since Thursday afternoon, is now classified as being held, which means it is not likely to spread farther under forecasted conditions.

The fire had been classified as “out of control” for the past few days, as it more than doubled in size in just hours on the first day.

It was reported around 1 p.m. on Aug. 19. It forced the evacuation of an LNG storage facility, as well as a nearby fish hatchery. It also put about 20 residences on evacuation alert.

“While holding the fire is an important milestone, crews still have lots of hard physical work ahead. Due to extremely dry conditions this fire has burned deep into the ground,” the BC Wildfire Service said on Twitter Sunday. “In addition to strengthening control lines, crews will use hand tools to dig out hot spots and turn over and wet down earth to remove the remaining heat from the fire. Smoke will likely remain visible until the fire has been declared out.”


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In the Interior, cooler conditions have helped firefighters make some progress on the White Rock Lake wildfire, but evacuation orders for more than 1,300 homes remain in place.

Nearly 8,600 square kilometres in B.C. have been burned by wildfires since the start of the fire season, and there are more than 3,600 firefighters battling blazes across the province.

There are currently more than 240 wildfires burning across B.C.

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