Crews from the BC Wildfire Service are gaining the upper hand on the Horsefly Lake fire.
The 526 hectare fire, discovered on July 31 and lightning-caused, is nearly 80 per cent contained, said incident commander Todd Flanagan.
Flanagan said they are building a fire guard around the entire perimeter of the fire and will let it slowly burn itself out over the next month, under the watchful eye of BC Wildfire Service who will continue to monitor it.
Crews hit the fire hard when it was first discovered, however, wind combined with the fuel load within the cut-blocks made it flare up Tuesday evening, forcing an evacuation alert which has since been lifted.
Currently there are about twenty fires burning between Horsefly and Quesnel Lake, none of which are threatening any structures at this time.
The Horsefly Lake fire was started by lightning in a small selectively-harvested cut block with a heavy slash load, giving it the fuel it needed to grow so quickly Tuesday evening.A fire guard is currently being put in place around the Horsefly Lake fire to completely contain it. Logs from the guard are being harvested and utilized by B.C. Timber Sales.A look at the progress being made on the fire guard.Firefighters work to put out a small, one-hectare fire within the Horsefly Lake Fire complex.The South Quartz Mountain fire on the east arm of Quesnel Lake, which is burnin gin remote, steep rugged terrain, will be monitored, and a possible fire guard put in place at the top of the mountain the stop it from spreading.Horsefly Lake Fire incident commander takes the Tribune on a tour of the twenty fires burning between Horsefly and Quesnel Lake.Crews worked recently to put out a lightning-caused fire in the Grain Creek area of Quesnel Lake in steep terrain.One of the many small fires burning east of Horsefly.This aerial shows the heavy slash load left after logging in the Horsefly Lake area, which can create a fire hazard.The Horsefly Lake Fire started on the upper side of the mountain in a cut block, which gave it the wind and fuel load needed to grow.An old logging slash pile sits in the forest within the Horsefly Lake Fire complex.Ground crews continue their work on the Horsefly Lake Fire complex.A BC Wildfire Service employee works to remove hazard trees along the road.BC Wildfire Incident Commander Todd Flanagan (left), acting communications specialist Robyn Clark and Paul Bondoc at the Horsefly Lake Fire complex.
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