Crews back off from Ootsa Lake wildfires for safety

The wildfire fight in central B.C. intensified Friday, according to officials.

The B.C. Wildfire Service says the Sabina Lake and Mount Wells blazes burning south of Burns Lake showed “Rank 5” fire behaviour, with “an extremely vigorous active crown fire.”

“When fire behaviour is like this, responder safety is top priority,” the service said on social media Friday.

“Crews were moved to safe zones to reassess objectives. Aviation resources continued to respond with heli-bucket support.”

Both fires are considered out of control, and the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako issued a new evacuation alert for people living near Ootsa Lake on Friday. 

The fires remain south of Ootsa Lake, and structure protection crews were stationed on the populated north side of the lake to respond to any spotting overnight, the BCWS said.

According to the wildfire service website, there were 115 firefighters, 10 danger tree assessors, seven helicopters and 14 pieces of heavy equipment responding to the Sabina Lake fire as of Saturday.

The Mount Wells Fire was being monitored, but not actively suppressed, according to the service.

Mount Wells was the smaller of the two blazes, covering an estimated 143 square kilometres, compared to the more than 560 square kilometres burning due to the Sabina Lake fire.