A Notice to Leave a Specified Area Order has been issued to clear all individuals from an area near the Harrison Lake East fire.

The fire is approximately 30 kilometres north of Harrison Hot Springs, on the eastern side, near the mouth of Big Silver Creek. The area specifically affected is:

• Harrison East Forest Service Road from the 20-kilometre mark.
• North to the Junction of the Harrison East Forest Service Road and Shovel Creek Forest Service Road.
• Including all official and non-official recreation sites.
• All tributary roads within the defined area.
• The order does not included primary residences or established commercial or industrial facilities.

The Notice to Leave Order has been issued to help aid the transport of fire suppression resources up the Harrison East Forest Service Road into the fire site, as the road congestion on the road is currently impairing the BC Wildfire Service from transporting equipment and staff into the fire. The Notice to Leave Order is also issued to stop the general public actively driving into the fire site.

The fire is currently estimated to be 60 hectares in size. Visibility prevents firefighters from getting an accurate size at this time.

Visibility continues to be an issue as there is smoke and cloud cover in the area due to an inversion. It is expected that as the inversion lifts, winds will rise to 15 to 20 kilometres per hour, resulting in increased fire behaviour. This will make the fire more visible to the surrounding area.

Depending on the prevailing winds, smoke can travel long distances. For information about air quality and satellite imagery from the Western Canada Smoke Forecast, please go to: http://firesmoke.ca/

The fire is person-caused, although not a result of industrial activity. The fire cause is under investigation.

Today, there are four officers, 63 firefighters, a water tender, five helicopters and airtanker support (as required) on the fire.

For the latest information on current wildfire activity, burning restrictions, road closures and air quality advisories, go to: http://www.bcwildfire.ca

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