UPDATE: 7:40 p.m.
The small-scale ignition that took place Saturday, on the Hullcar Mountain wildfire was successful as site conditions were favourable for crews.
According to BC Wildfire, ground personnel were able to use small-scale hand ignitions on the east and northeast sides of the blaze.
“This ignition operation allowed crews to bring the active fire perimeter to already established control lines, and will allow for safer and faster mop-up and containment in this area,” stated BC Wildfire.
The blaze remains at an estimated 716 hectares.
BC Wildfire Service is throwing plenty of resources at the Hullcar Mountain wildfire northwest of Armstrong Saturday, Aug. 10.
The fire saw no growth overnight and is still an estimated 716 hectares in size.
Fire information officer Taylor Wallace said 95 personnel are responding to the wildfire Saturday. They are being supported by 12 pieces of heavy equipment, 21 structural protection personnel and two helicopters bucketing water.
A small-scale planned ignition was supposed to take place Friday but was cancelled due to a thunderstorm in the area. That ignition is now currently underway "as conditions have become favourable for that to happen," Wallace said around 11 a.m. Saturday.
"We've got ground personnel that have assessed the area and evaluated the fuels as well as the conditions, and they're going to be continuously monitoring weather conditions on site throughout the operation this morning," Wallace said of the planned ignition, which will be taking place on the northeast flank of the fire, where most crews will be working Saturday morning.
She said crews have made good progress mopping up on the west flank of the fire near Haines Creek Forest Service Road, adding the fire behaviour has been "very low" on that flank for the past few days.
Along the south flank, crews are working on patrolling and mopping up.
Crews have tied in the north flank and are working on mopping up in the area. They have been preparing the guard on the east and northeast section of the fire to conduct the planned ignition, which will burn about 40 hectares.
The east flank is tied in with a guard and has contingency plans in place. Preparation of the guard and control lines are being done using a combination of crews digging hand guard, heavy equipment and aerial resources.
During the planned ignition, smoke and flames may be visible from Armstrong and Enderby, as well as travellers along Highway 97 and 97A.
The fire has been observed at mostly rank one and two, meaning a low vigour surface fire, with some moderately vigorous rank three pockets.
All evacuation orders and alerts remain unchanged Saturday morning.
