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Fire crews battling wildfire south of Houston

58 hectares of forest have been consumed by Friday’s fire south of Houston.
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Earlier wildfire in BC. BC Wildlife Service Facebook photo

FINAL UPDATE:

BC Wildfire Service says the wildfire 40 kilometers south of Houston is no longer considered to be a wildfire of note and won’t be updated anymore.

Although, fire crews continue to work on extinguishing the blaze, they’ve made significant progress since it ignited Friday.

The wildfire burning 40 kilometres southwest of Lac La Hache continues to be fought by firefighters. BC Wildfire Service says it is still classified as ‘being held’.

It has also been more accurately mapped to 25.9 hectares in size instead of the 36 hectares as originally thought.

UPDATE: #2:

Fire crews continue to battle a forest fire 40 kilometres south of Houston.

According to the BC Wildfire Service’s website, the fire is on the south side of the Nadina River and 3 kilometres south of Owen Lake. It has been more accurately mapped to 58 hectares in size and is classified as “under control.” The service goes on the say the fire has received sufficient suppression to ensure the fire will not spread.

As of Monday morning, there are 80 firefighters and 1 helicopter working the fire.

The fire that was discovered Friday, had fire crews battling the blaze from the ground and the air.

Water-bombing planes could be seen at Smithers Regional Airport refueling and heading to towards Houston on a constant loop.

A man watching planes take off and land at the airport Friday evening said in the 15 minutes he’d been there, several firefighting planes had landed and taken off.

No homes or buildings have been threatened by the wildfire, the site states. The cause of what sparked the blaze is not yet known.

The cause of what sparked the blaze is not yet known.

Officials say lightning is to blame for the wildfire 40 kilometres southwest of Lac La Hache.

The fire was discovered Friday is an estimated 36 hectares in size. Fire crews have the blaze contained and have it classified as “being held”. Which means the fire is not expected to grow.

UPDATE #1:

BC Wildfire Service says as of 10:30 a.m. Saturday, the wildfire south of Houston is now approximately 70 hectares in size.

According to their website, there are 43 firefighters on the ground with nearly double on the way. There are also multiple water bombers fighting the blaze from the air.

The wildfire south of Lac La Hache has grown to about 36 hectares, but has been surrounded by firefighters.

There are 50 firefighters on the ground, one helicopter, two heavy equipment machines, and air tankers battling the fire.

BC Wildfire Service site stated both wildfires don’t pose any threat to homes or buildings. No word yet on what sparked both blazes.

Original:

Firefighters are battling a wildfire south of Houston.

According to BC Wildfire Service, the fire is on the south side of the Nadina River, which is about 40 kilometers south of Houston and has consumed an estimated 18 hectares.

Crews responded to the wildfire after 7 p.m. Friday (June 23).

It’s believed that firefighting water bombers are taking off and refueling at Smithers airport.

A man watching planes take off and land at the airport said in the 15 minutes he’d been there, several firefighting planes had landed and taken off.

Water bombers are heading in the direction of Houston on a constant loop.

There’s also a wildfire burning 40 kilometres southwest of Lac La Hache. It’s approximately eight hectares in size and being fought from both ground and air.

The BC Wildfire Service website states both fires are not interface; which means no homes or buildings are threatened.

The cause of what sparked both wildfires is not yet known.

We’ll have more information once it becomes available.

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A water bomber lands at Smithers Regional Airport. (Josh Casey photo)