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VOL 118 NO. 35
Back on the ice Page A21
Alert lifted as wildfire threat eases CRAIG LINDSAY
Grand Forks Gazette
Some rain and cooler temperatures have reduced the wildfire threats to Grand Forks. It has also pretty much cleared the smoke away from the area. Residents certainly had a few tense days in the last week as the RDKB’s Emergency Operations Centre issued an evacuation alert for all residents south of the Kettle River and for those in Cascade and Ponderosa areas of Christina Lake. That evacuation alert has since been lifted. The alert was deemed necessary due to the high winds that threatened to blow burning embers into town causing a threat to residences. Karlie Shaugnessey of the Southeast Fire Centre said that the increased precipitation has helped reduce the threat from the wildfires. She added that in many cases, some fire crews have been sent home with the reduced threat. “We’ve been experiencing cooler and wetter conditions and we also have cooler temperatures and more rain in the forecast so that will help decrease the wildfire risk in the region and reduce the fire rating,” she said. “The majority of the Southeast Fire Centre is now in the low fire danger rating with the exception of the very western edge of the Boundary fire zone.” This year the Southeast Fire Centre has recorded 562 fires in the region totaling 13,920 hectares. The biggest year on record was 2003, which had 644 fires during the same time period totaling 72,036 hectares. The five-year average is 283 fires that burned 4,420 hectares. The Boundary region has had 136 fires this season, well above the 10-year average of 43. Stickpin fire
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The Stickpin fire in Washington state continues to burn on 5km south of the border. The blaze is an estimated 21,638 hectares and is 20 per cent contained. The precipitation received as well as the amounts forecasted have greatly reduced the immediate fire activity. Cooler temperatures and rain have played a significant • See ALERT LIFTED page A13
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Local children (from left) Paige Giesler, Brooklynn Sterling, Hailey Giesler and Willson Thate got to meet a few of the firefighters for whom they made posters on Saturday at Angus MacDonald Park. The firefighters, based out of Nelson, are: (from left) Matthew Anderson, Oliver Wright, Eric Adamson, Nick Christian and Kevin Grother. Craig LIndsay photo
Posters uplifting to firefighters CRAIG LINDSAY
Grand Forks Gazette
A few local children were able to meet some firefighters on Saturday after making posters for them. The kids were thrilled to meet the firefighters, who in turn were very gracious and appreciative. Firefighter Nick Christian, from Nelson, said they really appreciated the home-made posters, which were at their campsite at Angus MacDonald Park. He said it made it much easier to get up and fight the fires. “It’s been unbelievable,” he said. “The community support has been huge. It’s been really nice knowing the whole town is behind you when you’re doing something that’s a hard job.” Christian came to B.C. from Ontario 10 years ago and has been firefighting for the last two years with Nelson-based Panorama Crew Services. They come from all over B.C. and are currently battling the Lynch Creek wildfire, 25 kilometres north of
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Grand Forks. “I worked for a ski resort company that was doing trail crew and initial attack for fires that happened on the resort property,” said Christian. “That kind of sparked my interest. I moved to Nelson and found out there was a contract crew and hopped on that. It’s been a great two seasons.” Christian said he works with a five-man crew and they are sent to different marshalling points at wildfires throughout the province. Before coming to Grand Forks, the crew was in High Level, Alta. fighting a wildfire there. He said they stay in camps or in motels, depending on the area. “Lots of overnight camping if you can’t get a flight back to town so we always prepare for that,” he said. “Sometimes you have to camp on the fire lines and sometimes in town. It just depends on the situation.” He said they have seen good progress in their time at Lynch Creek. “It’s going good for sure,” he said. “Every day it’s a huge
group effort. Every day we’re getting it done. It’s been positive results each day.” Christian said the smoke did make it difficult for crews to get information from the sky since the helicopters were unable to fly. He did add that the wind is tough because it blows the fire around but it’s good that it blew the smoke away from town. “On the fire side, it moves things around and changes the game plan of what you’re trying to do,” he said. Christian said the support in Grand Forks has been very much appreciated by the firefighters. Christian and his crew mates were able to find time Saturday night to meet up with the children at Angus MacDonald, their former camping spot. “It was definitely a surprise to see all those cards,” he said. “It made it really easy to do something like this. This is the first time I’ve had something like this in some place I’ve camped—to get that visible support.” • See POSTERS page A13
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