The Scene From Williams Lake

By 250 News

Williams Lake, looking south from Scout Island      courtesy Julie Whiting-Bellai

Williams Lake, B.C. - Not only is Williams Lake the hub of what could have been a firestorm today, the community has the dubious honour of having the worst air quality in the province this evening.

As of 8pm on the provincial Air Quality Health Index, Williams Lake is sitting at Level 15, or Very High Health Risk.  The hourly reading for coarse particulates (PM₁₀) at the Library monitoring station is 297 micrograms per cubic metre, almost 12-times the level of 25 ug/m³ that prompts an air quality advisory.

The fine particulate hourly reading is slightly lower at 258 ug/m³.

As far as the forest fire situation goes, officials are breathing a sigh of relief -- despite the bad air -- that their worst fears were not realized as a result of the cold front that moved through region overnight Wednesday and into today.

Cariboo Fire Centre Information Officer, Radha Fisher, says gusting winds in the western part of the region were recorded at almost 70 km/hr and, in Williams Lake, they were sustained at between 30- and 40-km/hr.  (photo at left shows 'whirlwind' created by fire in Meldrum Complex, courtesy of Dana Hicks)

She says the winds did cause extreme fire behaviour on all fires within the CFC's boundaries.  But Fisher says, "The good news is that our control lines are holding along the critical flanks."

One of those flanks was the eastern edge of a fire burning in the Meldrum Creek Complex.  Officials had been worried flames might jump the Fraser River and head into the City of Williams Lake, itself, prompting an evacuation alert for an industrial portion along North Mackenzie Avenue.

Fisher emphasizes that no fires within the Complex have crossed to the east side of the river.  She says a helicopter did infra-red scanning at first light this morning to confirm this.

That's not to say that the Cariboo Fire Centre doesn't still have a mammoth job ahead...

The Fire Information Officer says it has been a day of re-grouping and re-strategizing in light of some substantial fire growth caused by the weather system, but, "We hope to get a bit of a break tomorrow in terms of cooler temperatures and less wind."

For the most up-to-date fire information, go to www.bcwildfire.ca

Photo below shows golfers in Williams Lake trying to enjoy their pastime, regardless of the smoke, courtesy of Julie Whiting-Bellai.

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