Village of Ashcroft said crews making 'excellent progress' on Tremont Creek wildfire, south flank continues to be active due to winds

UPDATE: 5:11 p.m.

The north flank of the Tremont Creek fire has been exhibiting “no fire behaviour” while the south flank continues to be active due to strong winds, according to the BC Wildfire Service.

The BC Wildfire Service said crews have continued working Sunday to secure a machine guard from Barnes Lake south around the perimeter of the fire to the east by using small-scale hand ignitions.

“This tactic reduces fire growth and limits the possibility of spotting over machine guard,” the BC Wildfire Service said.

The Village of Ashcroft said in a statement on Sunday that the current threat to Ashcroft remains “minimal.”

"Crews continue to make excellent progress on the Tremont Creek fire," the statement said.

“Ashcroft, Cache Creek and Walhachin flanks of the fire are considered ‘secure’."

A two-hectare spot fire started across Highway 97C on Saturday night, near the southwest of the fire, which crews contained by early Sunday morning, according to the BC Wildfire Service.

According to the statement from the Village of Ashcroft, fire department crews were dispatched to this spot fire, but upon arrival it was found that BC Wildfire Service personnel and a structure protection team had the situation under control.

The statement said the spot fire on Highway 97C did not result in a highway closure, and advised travellers to check DriveBC for the most current status.

The Tremont Creek fire is still estimated to be 12,061 hectares in size.

Evacuation alerts and orders are still in place for communities near the blaze, including the Village of Ashcroft.

More information on which properties are affected can be found on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District website.

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UPDATE: 10:16 a.m.

Personnel stationed at the Tremont Creek wildfire contained a small, two-hectare spot fire that crossed Highway 97C late Saturday night, the BC Wildfire Service said.

Fire Information Officer Forrest Tower said the main wildfire did not cross the highway, and the spot fire was contained by 1:30 a.m. on Sunday morning.

“There was a spot that had crossed the highway. It’s been dealt with, and crews are finishing up that mop-up this morning,” Tower said.

The Tremont Creek wildfire, estimated at just over 12,000 hectares in size, has been mostly surrounded by machine guards.

The fire is still considered out of control.

Tower said while the north flank of the fire is looking “really good,” there has been some growth to the south, where the machine guard wasn’t quite completed.

“They’re putting guard around that now, and that’s the plan, is to keep wrapping it, but there is probably going to be a bit of growth.”

On Friday, the BC Wildfire Service said crews tackled another spot fire near Barnes Lake — southeast of Ashcroft — which was contained to five hectares.

“Air tankers, two heavy helicopters and ground crews worked throughout the day to extinguish the spot,” the BC Wildfire Service said.

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ORIGINAL: 4:00 a.m.

Crews are making significant progress containing a massive fire near Ashcroft.

The BC Wildfire Service said Saturday night the 12,000-hectare Tremont Creek fire is now burning within machine guards, but is still classified as out-of-control.

“Crews and heavy equipment have wrapped most of the fire with machine guard,” BCWS said.

As of 8 p.m. on Saturday, active fire burning on the southwest flank of the fire had not passed existing guards.

“There is active fire on the southeast side that is creating a visible column. Crews are working in these areas to secure lines,” BCWS added.

Firefighters have been helped by less severe weather in the past few days.

Sixty firefighters, eight helicopters and 32 pieces of heavy equipment are assigned to the fire.

The Village of Ashcroft and Ashcroft Indian Band remain under precautionary evacuation alerts while the Oregon Jack Creek Indian Band are under evacuation order.