The series of fires burning northwest Williams Lake and west of Quesnel have now merged in one large fire, now the largest fire burning in the province at this time.
Now being referred to as the Plateau fire by the BC Wildfire Service, it is estimated at 438,772 hectares in size.
This fire was previously being listed as Chezacut, Tautri, Bishop's Bluff, Baezaeko, Wentworth Creek, Arc Mountain, and others.
Burning 60 km west of Quesnel, and 60 km northwest of Williams Lake, the Plateau fire is considered an interface fire, and according to the BC Wildfire Service, it is one of the largest fires B.C. has seen in history.
The photo below illustrates a successful hand ignition undertaken on the Tautri #BCwildfire. More details in the text screencap below. pic.twitter.com/y1rExJaKSn
— BC Wildfire Service (@BCGovFireInfo) August 14, 2017
There are currently 500 firefighters, 24 helicopters, and 115 pieces of heavy equipment. Because of it’s sheer size, two separate incident management teams are assigned to the fire.
There are currently 137 other fires burning across the province, with 12 new fires starting yesterday. The BC Wildfire Service has responded to 1057 fires this season, which have burned an estimate of 981,000 hectares of land across the Province.
