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Wildfire near Beaverdell

A wildfire has broken out near the Carmi Forest Service Road, 10 km north-west of Beaverdell.

Karlie Shaughnessey, fire information officer with the South East Fire Centre, said the blaze was reported Monday afternoon and is sitting at 1.2 hectares.

A four-person initial attack crew has responded along with one helicopter and an air tanker.

No structures are threatened and the cause of the fire is under investigation.

“As far as I know, there has not been any lighting in that area,” said Shaughnessey.

The largest fire currently burning in the province is near Harrison Lake and is believed to be human caused.

Fire officials say they are disappointed to see new human-caused fires burning across the province despite constant warnings about hot, dry conditions.

There have been 1,390 wildfires in B.C. this season, including 428 that were human-caused, said Provincial Fire Information Officer Kevin Skrepnek.

"To have to divert resources and personnel and expose ourselves to risk to address a preventable, human-caused fire is certainly disappointing," he said.

A fire discovered burning in slash and brush about 20 kilometres north of Harrison Hot Springs Sunday afternoon was started by humans, and has grown to more than half a square kilometre.

Skrepnek said it's hard to say exactly how big the blaze is.

"The fire is creating so much smoke, it's quite difficult to ascertain an accurate size at this point, just because of the wind and the conditions in the area."

Wind is fanning the aggressive fire, blowing smoke and embers which makes it difficult for fire crews to fight the flames.

About 70 personnel are working on the fire with four helicopters and heavy machinery.

The fire is not threatening any homes or structures, but several nearby campsites have been evacuated by RCMP.

The sites weren't immediately threatened by the fire and there was no official evacuation order issued, Skrepnek said, but the area was cleared to make it easier for fire crews to do their work.

— With files from the Canadian Press



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