Fire update - July 22

Cool temps again today in the Cariboo, though we briefly saw 23C at the lake.  That didn't last long, as heavy winds followed by rain cooled the air down to the mid-teens.  The Okanagan had highs in the high-20s.  Temps in the low to mid 30s are forecast there for the coming week.

Only one new fire in the Cariboo (north of Williams Lake), though I suspect there will be more due to this afternoon's thunderstorm.  There zero fires in the Cariboo that are currently "Out of control".  The 21ha fire on the north side of Quesnel Lake is now "Being Held".

New fires include:

About a dozen new fires today spread across the southern part of the province, none of note.

Existing notable fires:

Elbow Lake - 1km N of Elbow.  This 1.9ha fire is "Out".

Mt. Eneas - 7km south of Peachland.  Increase in size to 1,516 hectares, evacuation orders are in place, though some have been downgraded to alerts.  Most of the growth can be attributed to a successful back-burn today executed to join two adjacent fires.  This was done to decrease available fuel, and put firefighters in more advantageous terrain.  More information here.

Goode's Creek - Okanagan Mtn Park again remains at 400ha.  Progress continues on this fire, but no specifics are available.

Mount Conkle - just NW of Penticton remains at 118 ha.  This fire is still 90% machine & hand guarded with most of the fire also surrounded by hose.  I expect a status change to "Being Held" soon.

All of the large Okanagan fires are still in "Out of control" status.

2018 BC wildfire stats
June 20-23: 136 new fires, 16 still active
July 17-19:  64 new fires, 38 still active
All of May: 125 new fires, 8 still active
All of June: 178 new fires, 23 still active
All of July: 117 new fires, 61 still active
Current "Out of Control" fires: 25

Note: these stats are for fires greater than 0.01 hectares.

BC map July 22 at 8:00pm