A warming and drying trend is expected to persist throughout the week. With less cloud cover, sunny weather and temperatures warming up more quickly throughout the day, relative humidity's will be lower than over the weekend and fuels will continue to dry out. This is expected to contribute to increased fire behaviour and fire activity, creating potentially volatile conditions during peak burning times.
The containment lines the crews have been building on the south, east and north flanks continue to hold up well against gusting afternoon winds.
The crews were on the southwest corner of the fire yesterday working to establish containment lines on the operable areas of the fire perimeter with bucketing support from helicopters.
Crews were in the Stein Valley testing the 1,500 ft of sprinklers and hoselay along the walking path this morning. The sprinkler system was then activated for the day to add moisture into the valley bottom ahead of the anticipated hot and dry afternoon conditions.
Initial attack crews completed mop up on the 1.3 hectare spot fire found on the morning of July 17th near the start of the Stein Valley Nlaka’pamux Heritage Park walking trail. Crews are now closely patrolling the spot for any remaining burning embers to ensure nothing pops up.
A coordinated approach in the response and protection of the Stein Valley Nlaka'pamux Heritage Park will continue to be a priority for Lytton First Nation, BC Parks and the BC Wildfire Service.
A representative from Lytton First Nation that specializes in archeological site and cultural values is working with structure protection specialists and BCWS crews to identify cultural values and provide guidance and recommendations on the best options for protection of those values. Today they worked with crews that were scouting a new location for a hand line from the Stryen Creek to the Nohomin Creek ridge line, just south of the Stein Valley. The work along the Stein Valley walking path is complete for the time being.
Yesterday the Lytton First Nation crews continued working around the structures in the neighborhoods on both the north and south sides of the Stein Valley. They continue to extinguish pockets of heat and smokes found during their mop up and patrol efforts.
On the north flank, the crew that has been working along the steep mountain ridge continued pushing further up slope with their guard construction, advancing on the progress made on Tuesday. Further north, the crew that completed construction on the contingency line ahead of the north flank completed the hose lay up the length of the contingency line they built yesterday.
While the south, east and north flanks of the fire are currently exhibiting minimal fire activity, the western flank, on the north side of the Stein Valley remains active. However, much of the terrain in this area is steep and inoperable.
Helicopters provided bucketing support throughout the day and continue to have good success on both the north and south flanks, allowing crews to safely continue directly attacking the wildfire.
Rappel crews are establishing helipads to facilitate access for crews and equipment.
Structure protection assessment and triaging remains ongoing. While fire activity across the majority of the fire is minimal, this work is proactive in the event of an increase in fire activity as a result of the warming and drying trend.
To view the most updated map of the wildfire and surrounding area, click here.
This incident is classified as Out of Control. Learn more about stages of control here.
The Stein Valley Nlaka’pamux Heritage Park is closed. More information is available here.