We can't fight them all

Photo: Brian Skakun

Wildfire smoke hovers over Quesnel Lake.

There are so many big wildfires in the Cariboo Fire Centre that officials admit they can't fight them all at the same time.

On July 7, numerous aggressive wildfires started in the Cariboo, including a number of fires in the Quesnel Lake area.

A press release issued by the Cariboo Regional District Saturday stated the BC Wildfire Service has been continuously monitoring the Quesnel Lake fires “as full suppression in this area is not possible at this time due to the large number of interface fires burning across the Cariboo Fire Centre.”

An increase in fire behaviour earlier this week prompted the Office of the Fire Commissioner to deploy structure protection units to structures under immediate threat in the Grain Creek area on the north side of Quesnel Lake.

Industry partners have used their heavy equipment on the fire in the Abbott Creek area on the north side of Quesnel Lake.

“To protect public safety, the Cariboo Regional District has put a small number of properties in the Grain Creek area under an evacuation order. This is to protect property owners from the danger posed directly by wildfire and from the danger posed by large trees immediately surrounding structures in that area. The trees are subject to root system failure due to sustained burning and have the potential to come down on.”

While smoke from the fires is visible, the district said public safety and property in other nearby areas, including Likely, was not threatened at this time.