Wildfire sparks 3.5 km south of Valemount

By Spencer Hall

A 0.009 hectare fire was discovered Thursday afternoon near Camp Creek, approximately 3.5 km south of Valemount.

The fire is now listed as being held, meaning it is not anticipated to spread past its current perimeter. 

A spokesperson for the BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) told The Goat seven BCWS staff are assigned to the fire and are being supported by helicopter buckets. A water tender is also on the way as of 4:46 p.m.

Crews say the fire has shown Rank 1 and Rank 2 fire behaviour, exhibiting as a smoldering ground fire and a low vigor surface fire.

“With crews being supported by a helicopter, we are not anticipating the wildfire to get out of hand,” the spokesperson said.

BCWS said the type of fuels crews were battling against are slash piles and mature jack pine and lodgepole pine.

The fire is suspected to be human-caused. When asked if the fire originated from the slash piles, BCWS said the exact cause is still under investigation.

This is a developing story and may be updated as more details become available.