Crews have finally made headway on a massive blaze near Lillooet, despite the fire having grown in size and inched closer to town, fire information officers said yesterday.
Jeremiah Louis said the Mount McLean fire is covering 3,800 hectares, up from 3,300 hectares on Tuesday, and has moved about 400 metres toward the closest building because of burnoff operations — small, intentional fires meant to contain the larger blaze.
“We have made some progress with the fire,” Louis said. “The burnoff operations were successful.”
More than 40 ground personnel are performing what Louis said was “aggressive mop-up” on the east flank of Mount McLean, which is closest to town.
He added because there’s decreased fire activity there, crews have been able to move resources to the north flank.
“The weather is helping a lot more. The winds and humidity have decreased. It’s helped the firefighters get close (to the fire).”
Around 2,500 displaced residents remain in local hotels, schools and churches.
