(UPDATE at 10:27 a.m. PT, June 12, 2015)
The British Columbia Wildfire Management Branch says the Cisco Road Fire south of Lytton, B.C. has been mapped at 1,500 hectares (3,700 acres). The size will increase as the fire crews conduct strategic burning operations.
Firefighters will be watching for high winds today — predicted to be southerly for most of Friday morning, with the chance of a shift to northerly later in the afternoon. Crews did experience a trace amount of precipitation on some areas of the fire Friday morning.
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(UPDATE at 5:29 p.m. PT, June 11, 2015)
The British Columbia Wildfire Management Branch said at 2:58 PT that the new wildfire, now named Cisco Road Fire, west of the Fraser River south of Lytton (map) has burned about 600 hectares (1,482 acres) and is zero percent contained:
This fire is displaying aggressive fire behaviour (Rank 5) and is located in difficult terrain [Rank 5 fire behaviour is a crown fire that has the potential for short-range spotting] . Winds 40 gusting 60 km/hr [25 mph gusting to 37 mph] from the south are continuing to challenge suppression efforts. There are currently 22 firefighters on site, with 20 more en route. Three helicopters are providing bucking support for ground crews.
An Evacuation Alert and Order have been issued by the Lytton First Nations Band for nearby First Nations communities.
I wonder about the future of the live cam that is getting these great photos? If the wind shifts to come out of the north, it will probably be toast, unless it can be evacuated, or unless it has sufficient clearance around it. I think the cam is looking north, and that jives with the south wind described above..
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(Originally published at 2:32 p.m. PT, June 11, 2015)
A new wildfire south of Lytton, B.C. has gotten a running start up a steep slope, as you can see in the photo that was captured by a live camera operated by Lyttonnet. Not much information is available yet, but CBC News reported at 1:57 p.m. PT that it was 150 hectares (370 acres) on the west side of the Fraser River. The B.C. Wildfire Management Branch says the fire was reported around noon and is threatening structures near Lytton, roughly 100 kilometers north of Hope.
Lytton wildfire covering 150 hectares west of Fraser River http://t.co/jzQyCyDAcG pic.twitter.com/TjKhQUeQ8H
— Brady Strachan (@BradyStrachan) June 11, 2015
Here is another photo grabbed from the live camera earlier in the day:
Yup, snow. Cold front came in off the Pacific.
Interesting – the amount of ash on the cam image at Botanie Mt. – like snowfall.
That has to be snow! It blankets everything including the trees. It also looks like the higher humidity and perhaps rain at the lower elevation slowed the fire down significantly.
hmm, perhaps it’s actually snow … that cam is 6500′