British Columbia: Chelaslie River Fire

map Chelaslie River Fire

The Chelaslie River Fire 126 miles west of Prince George has burned over a quarter of a million acres in British Columbia. Authorities have issued evacuation orders for Entiako Provincial Park and the west half of the Tetachuck Lake area.

The 264,000-acre (107,000 hectares) fire, discovered July 8, started from lightning. It is being fought by 290 personnel and 18 helicopters.

The description of current activities found on the British Columbia government website uses some jargon that may be foreign to firefighters in other countries:

Heavy equipment continues to be utilized to establish new machine guards and contain new fire perimeters. Firefighters are establishing new contingency guards and mopping-up spot fires outside the fire perimeter. A second Wildfire Management Branch camp has been implemented on the Northern side of this fire.