Smoke anticipated for a number of weeks throughout deliberate ignition – West Kelowna Information

Smoke visible for weeks

According to BC Wildfire smoke will be visible for the next four to six weeks due to a planned ignition.

In a recent update, BC Wildfire says the fire burning above the Banks Creek Drainage has yet to burn its way down to the pre-established control line and is not considered Under Control.

“Due to prevailing and forecasted seasonably dry Okanagan conditions, this portion of the fire has been reclassified to Being Held. This section of the fire will continue to burn freely and put up smoke until it reaches the control lines where crews can safely extinguish the fire’s edge.”

“As a result, although much of the fire has already received sufficient suppression action to ensure no further spread, as of Sept. 10, the White Rock Lake wildfire has been reclassified back to Being Held,” the update said.

Operations Section Chief, Andre Chalabi says the residual smouldering ground fire throughout the fire perimeter is beneficial to the local species and ecosystem.

Although smoke will be highly visible, there is no threat of further spread and wildfire management staff are continuing to actively patrol and monitor all perimeters of the fire.

“A lot of what the fire did where the branches were lower down is essentially killed the lower limbs, but not the trees. With this mixed-severity it creates an opening for wildlife like travel paths, places to sleep, thermal cover and the native species will come back at thrives over time,” he said.