Good progress made on Jade fire

BC Forest Service crews and heavy equipment made good progress establishing a significant amount of guard on the northeast flank of the Jade wildfire Friday.

Wildfire activity was moderate and mostly on the ground therefore, the size is still estimated at 600 hectares.

Saturday will bring higher temperatures and a lower relative humidity which may result in increased fire activity.

Today, the BC Forest Service is continuing to construct machine guard on the northeast flank and will complete a contingency line on the southwest side.

A retardant pit has been completed that the helicopters will use now use for bucketing retardant on hot spots and line construction in areas that are inaccessible to ground crews and equipment.

A Rappel Crew has been brought in to work on small, inaccessible hot spots outside of the existing guard lines.

Overnight, a ten-person sustained action crew monitored fire behaviour. The BC Forest Service will have 80 firefighters, 14 structure protection unit personnel, seven helicopters and five pieces of heavy equipment on site Saturday. More resources will continue to be added to the fire as needed.

The Squamish Lillooet Regional District has issued an evacuation alert for the Yalakom Valley.

A public information line has been established at 1-866-417-4132 for area residents to call for updated information.

Fire activity is anticipated to increase today due to high temperatures and variable winds. The Kamloops Fire Centre urges the public to be extra vigilant with recreational activities so resources can be allocated to naturally-caused wildfires rather than human-caused wildfires.

For the latest information on fire activity, bans and restrictions and current conditions, visit the Wildfire Management Branch website.