The Shetland Creek wildfire near Ashcroft had grown to 14,830.9 hectares as of 9:30 a.m. on Sunday (July 21), and on Sunday afternoon Highway 1 was closed to traffic between Spences Bridge and Ashcroft due to fire activity near the Trans-Canada. Motorists will need to choose an alternate route; check for updates.
No new evacuation alerts or orders were put in place on Saturday or Sunday. The existing orders cover areas of the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, the villages of Ashcroft and Cache Creek, the Cook's Ferry Band, Oregon Jack Band, and Ashcroft Band.
Officials from the regional district are planning to do an initial assessment of the Saranagati Village community at Venables Valley southwest of Ashcroft on Sunday. The TNRD has confirmed that there has been structure loss in the community, but the full extent is not yet known.
Firefighters have been rescuing domestic animals that were left behind when the community was evacuated at short notice on the evening of July 17. The animals are being taken to Angel's Animal Rescue near Merritt, where they will be housed until they can be reunited with their owners.
The 26 Ashcroft residents who were relocated from the community's long-term care and assisted living facilities by Interior Health on Friday remain evacuated. The step was taken as a proactive measure when the entire Village of Ashcroft was put on evacuation alert on Friday.
Weather continues to play a factor, with high temperatures throughout the region. The forecast daily high on Sunday is 41 C, but a cooling trend is expected to settle over the region starting on Monday, with daily highs dipping as low as 24 C by Thursday, July 25.
The BC Wildfire Service says that winds will be predominantly south southwesterly, approximately 1091ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ“15 km/hr with gusts of up to 30 km/hr. Medium range spotting will continue with the forecast winds, and as fuels remain dry and susceptible for ignition. Fire behaviour is expected to increase throughout Sunday as smoke dissipates throughout the morning and wind increases.
Overnight on July 20, a 23-person unit crew was engaged in structure protection night operations in the Venables Valley and along the Oregon Jack Road (Hat Creek Road). Crews will continue to work alongside structure protection personnel to maintain structure protection apparatus in the vicinity of the Venables Valley and along the Oregon Jack Road.
Structure protection personnel are working in the southern part of the Hat Creek Valley, adjacent to Oregon Jack Road, to install and maintain structure protection apparatus. Heavy equipment is continuing to construct a contingency guard tying into Blue Earth Lake northwest to Hat Creek Valley to keep the fire east of Hat Creek Valley. Approximately 25 kilometres of guard is in the process of being daylighted, which involves removing and widening the machine guard and eliminating the tree canopy to prevent spotting.
As smoke visibility improved, aviation resources supported ground crews by bucketing hot spots on the south and east flanks of the fire.
For information about evacuation alerts and orders, and the TNRD's Emergency Operations Centre, visit .
