(UPDATE: Aug. 19 @ 1:35 pm) - The Three Valley Lake wildfire is now being held, the BC Wildfire Service says.
The fire, located along the Trans-Canada Highway (Hwy 1) just west of Revelstoke, reached 433 hectares in size.
While a number of properties were put under evacuation alerts or orders, no structures were damaged and the highway was never closed down.
There are no crews working this fire today, but it continues to be monitored by the BCWS.
(UPDATE: Aug.18 @ 6:20 pm) – The Three Valley Lake wildfire, located just under 20km southwest of Revelstoke, has remained at 433 hectares for most of August.
BCWS is reporting that no crews are on the fire today and it is being monitored.
The agency explains that “much of this fire is burning in steep and unworkable ground that is unsafe for firefighters to work on the ground.”
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
The evacuation alert issued by the Columbia Shuswap Regional District has been rescinded.
Effective Aug. 18 at 4 pm, the following properties have been moved to “all clear:”
8271, 8234 and 8240 Trans-Canada Highway, Three Valley.
North of Trans-Canada Highway and Three Valley Lake including the Three Valley Lake Chateau & Ghost Town (8903 Trans-Canada Highway).
Great news for the Shuswap! We have had the All Clear given for the Alert area at Three Valley Lake, including the Three Valley Lake Chateau & Ghost Town. See more: https://t.co/zKoTIMHeaS#SEP #CSRD #YourCSRD #shuswap #threevalleygap pic.twitter.com/bkBPAEzrTE
— Shuswap Emergency Program (@shuswapemerg) August 18, 2021
(UPDATE: Aug. 16 @ 3:15 pm) - No new growth has been seen on the Three Valley Lake wildfire for multiple days, and crews are using this time to divert their attention elsewhere.
Much of the fire is burning in steep and unworkable ground that is unsafe for firefighters to work on, which is why there are currently no crews tending the fire today.
A small plume of smoke was visible from the fire on Sunday, but activity has remained low.
A second thermal imaging scan was conducted overnight to identify hotspots for extinguishment, and 10 helicopters being shared in the Shuswap Complex are still carefully monitoring the situation.
The evacuation alert issued by the Columbia Shuswap Regional District remains in place for the property on the northwest corner of the lake, as well as the Three Valley Lake Chateau & Ghost Town.
(UPDATE Aug. 11 @ 10:40 am) – The Three Valley Lake wildfire is still estimated to be burning at 433 hectares.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation as it burns out of control 18.5 kilometres southwest of Revelstoke.
Today, there are seven firefighters assigned to this incident.
BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) explains that crews will be focusing their efforts to the west side of this fire and establishing a water delivery system to prevent the fire from moving towards Highway 1.
“A thermal imaging scan was completed on Aug. 10 along the south and west sides of the fire.”
The scan will help crews locate hotspots along Highway 1 that need to be extinguished.
This fire is a part of the Shuswap Complex which has eight helicopters available for suppression efforts along the highway.
BCWS reports “minimal” fire activity since Sunday, Aug. 8.
The Columbia Shuswap Regional District rescinded the evacuation order for electoral area “E," effective Sunday Aug. 8 at 2:30 pm.
One property, located at 8271 Trans-Canada Highway, has been downgraded to the alert.
The following addresses also remain on evacuation alert:
North of Trans-Canada Highway and Three Valley Lake including the Three Valley Lake Chateau & Ghost Town (8903 Trans-Canada Highway)
8234 and 8240 Trans-Canada Highway, Three Valley
(UPDATE: Aug. 7 @ 6 pm) – The Three Valley Lake fire was accurately mapped at 433 hectares.
The fire is still burning out of control, but BC Wildfire Service BCWS reports that fire activity will be reduced in the coming days.
“Due to forecasted cooler temperatures and higher relative humidity.There are also forecasted showers but the trend for the area is lower [...] amounts.”
This fire continues to be visible from Highway 1 and motorists are asked not to stop or slow down in the area as to not impede on fire suppression efforts.
Yesterday, crews were working to secure the southwest side, along Highway 1, to “minimize impact.”
BCWS also reports that some structure protection equipment can be demobilized in the area.
There are five structure protection personnel and eight helicopters assigned to this fire.
The cause of this fire remains under investigation.
The evacuation alerts and orders issued by the Columbia Shuswap Regional District remain in place.
(UPDATE: Aug. 3 @ 9:55 am) - The Three Valley Lake wildfire showed some growth over the long weekend.
According to the BC Wildfire Service, the fire along Hwy 1 west of Revelstoke is up to 500 hectares in size.
The fire remains "very visible from Hwy 1 and the Three Valley Gap tourist area," but it has yet to result in a closure of the roadway.
The more aggressive fire behaviour is being observed on the north flank, away from the highway and on top of the ridge.
A concern of late has been rocks dislodging from steep cliff bans on the east side of Three Valley Gap, which is causing a safety hazard.
The BCWS says the fire is receiving "a modified response" since it's burning in very steep terrain that's unsafe for crews to access.
As a result, only one firefighter is currently assigned to the area, at least according to the BCWS website.
An evacuation order remains in place from the Columbia Shuswap Regional District for properties bordering the north side of Hwy 1, while an evacuation alert is in place for two properties west of the highway as well.
(UPDATE: July 30 @ 11:00 am) - The Three Valley Lake wildfire is now estimated to be around 309 hectares, but due to heavy smoke in the area BCWS is unable to obtain an approximate size.
The wildfire is still deemed out of control, and fire behaviour has increased over the past few days.
The fire is currently moving in a direction away from the Three Valley Gap Chateau, but the hotel remains closed.
An evacuation order issued by the Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD) remains in place for Three Valley Lake including the area bordering the north side of the Trans-Canada Highway.
An evacuation alert has been issued for two properties west of the Trans-Canada highway.
The CPR Water Train spraying retardant and water on vegetation at Three Valley Lake.#SEP #YourCSRD #ThreeValleyLake #CPRhttps://t.co/Gwrf7YZR8C
— Columbia Shuswap Regional District (@ColShuRegDist) July 25, 2021
Structural Protection Specialists remain on scene, and CP Rail has aerial resources responding to the fire throughout the day. Louisiana Pacific are also assisting with fire protection efforts.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
(ORIGINAL STORY: July 21 @ 12:30pm) - BC Wildfire Services (BCWS) has estimated the Three Valley Lake wildfire to be around 60 hectares, as the fire burns just 18 kilometers southwest of Revelstoke.
The fire was discovered on July 11, but was only recently added to the fires of note as it poses a potential threat to public safety.
An evacuation order has been issued by the Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD) for three valley lake, that includes the area bordering the north side of the Trans-Canada Highway.
An alert has also been issued for two properties west of the Trans-Canada Highway, the fire has not impacted travel on the road.
Update 18:25 Hours - The evacuation of residents and guests from the Three Valley Lake area and the Three Valley Gap Chateau is well underway. Two Structural Protection Units have been deployed to protect infrastructure. #SEP #CSRD #YourCSRD #3valleygapchateau pic.twitter.com/si2ohELmua
— Columbia Shuswap Regional District (@ColShuRegDist) July 21, 2021
The cause of the fire is still under investigation and BCWS is continuing to monitor the situation.
Structural protection specialists are on scene, and CP Rail has aerial resources responding to the fire as the rail line is currently threatened.
Evacuees are asked to self-register with Emergency Support Services online here, when registering residents are asked to indicate the community as Three Valley Gap.
If you're unable to stay with family or friends you can access support at the reception centre at the Sicamous and District Seniors Centre, located at 1091 Shuswap Avenue.
NowMedia will continue to update the situation.
