Activity increases at Nohomin Creek wildfire as heat intensifies

Photo: BCWS

Fire activity increased at the Nohomin Creek wildfire near Lytton under hot, dry conditions Monday afternoon.

The BC Wildfire Service says growth continues along the west flank on the north side of the Stein River, and the fire is now estimated to have burned 2,364 hectares.

Initial attack crews are prepared to respond to any spotting that could occur on the south side of the Stein River, the BCWS said in a Monday night update.

Temperatures are expected to continue to rising this week into the mid/high thirties, while relative humidity will drop.

On Monday, crews from Lytton First Nation and the wildfire service continued to mop up any remaining hotspots identified by infrared scans. Crews will continue that work today.

"Crews on both the north and south flanks continue to make good progress towards containment, despite steep terrain and increasingly high daytime temperatures," BCWS says.

On the north side, a unit crew continues hose lay as they mop up the northwest flank of the fire.

Crews working along the southern portion of the western flank will be advancing their wetline in from the fire perimeter. Initial attack crews are patrolling the Stryen Creek area and working to extinguish remaining hot spots.

The fire remains classified as out of control.

There are currently four unit crews, six initial attack crews, 18 Lytton First Nation firefighters, an Incident Management Team, structure protection personnel, a cultural liaison from Lytton First Nation, four water tenders, 11 helicopters and other operational and support staff supporting the response.