A new wildfire that sparked up south of Ashcroft oven Saturday is currently being held at 19 hectares in size.

BC Wildfire Information Officer, Shae Stearns, tells NL News the Hat Creek Road fire is suspected to have been caused by lightning. She says there are 20 firefighters on scene today as well as a water tender and one other piece of heavy equipment.

“They are still investigating the cause of it but we are still seeing a bit of a drier situation with less precipitation in this time frame right now, so it definitely could be contributing to it, but its still being investigated. Its just a suspected cause,” Stearns said.

Yesterday afternoon, the fire was mapped at 11 hectares with 26 BC Wildfire personnel on scene along with multiple air tankers and a helicopter. While smoke was highly visible from the Trans-Canada Highway, Stearns confirmed there are no structures at risk.

“With the response that we have on site, it is sufficient suppression action for the fire,” she added. “[Our response on scene today] will totally be as needed for the rest of the day there or [more] if they need extra support, but as of right now, they’re holding the fire.”

The fire danger rating in the Ashcroft area was high-to-extreme heading into the weekend, but it has dropped slightly to moderate for much of the area, with pockets still at high risk. That’s after 2.6 mm of rain in Ashcroft on Saturday, according to Environment Canada.

Only 9.6 mm of rain was recorded in Ashcroft for March, April and May combined, less than than the 10.3 mm of rain in the Kamloops area during that same time.

(Photo: BC Wildfire Service)