UPDATE: The wildfire is now being listed as under control, according to BC Wildfire Service.
ORIGINAL STORY:
An out of control wildfire with an estimated size of five hectares is burning near Chilko Lake in the Nemaiah Valley.
The fire had initially been reported at an estimated size of 20 hectares, but the size was updated by crews to five hectares when they arrived on site.
BC Wildfire Service said the fire was detected on April 21, and is still being responded to in efforts to suppress the unwanted fire. Initial attack crews and unit crews are on site, said BC Wildfire Information Officer Jeromy Corrigan.
Local fire crew Tin Towh of Xeni Gwet'in First Nation, lead by crew supervisor Steve Quilt, are reportedly assisting BC Wildfire Service's response to the fire.
Grass fires on the Chilcotin Plateau are a common springtime occurrence and are sometimes a part of cultural burning and ranching strategies to maintain grasslands or open Interior Douglas fir ecosystems.
BC Wildfire Service describes the fire location as 1.9 Km south of Nemaiah Valley Road, an area about a three hours drive, nearly 200 km southwest of Williams Lake. The BC Wildfire map puts the fire east of Chilko Lake, and approximately 20 km west and south of the First Nations community of Xeni Gwet'in.
The fire is the only out of control wildfire on BC Wildfire Service's current wildfire map at the moment.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
To see the current wildfire situation in B.C., go to: https://wildfiresituation.nrs.gov.bc.ca/map
Editor's note: This story was updated to correct the fire size and clarify crews on site.
With files from Misha Mustaqeem.
