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Michaud Creek fire grows to 5,981 hectares, smoke limits air support

Smoke still limiting visibility

The Michaud Creek wildfire south of Edgewood has seen some overnight growth and is now estimated to be 5,981 hectares in size.

As of midday Monday, the fire remained south of Johnson Creek and continued to hold at established control lines and an old burn.

The BC Wildfire Service says fire behaviour remains fairly low due to lessening winds and cooler temperatures from smoke that is blocking the sun.

Heavy smoke continues limit visibility for air support operations. Air tankers and helicopters plan to return to work as soon as visibility is clear and it is safe to do so.

There are 41 firefighters, one helicopter and 20 pieces of heavy equipment attacking the blaze.

Crews continue to focus on establishing and reinforcing containment lines in priority areas, to limit growth to the north/northwest.

“The containment lines are built using dozers to remove the burnable vegetation, hand tools where heavy equipment cannot access or crews may conduct planned ignition when possible,” the BCWS says.

A 15-person Incident Management Team from Alberta has arrived to manage the fire, along with the Octopus Creek and Renata Creek fires, as part of the Arrow Lake Complex.



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