As of 1800 hrs, the Harrison Lake East fire remains at an estimated 60 hectares in size.

This human-caused fire is burning in steep terrain in a heavily used recreation area above the east shore of Harrison Lake, 30 kilometres north of the community of Harrison Hot Springs.

Crew access to the area has been impacted by constrictions along the Harrison Lake East Forest Service Road. The road is single-lane for much of its distance, with vehicles parked on both sides of the road. In some places, the parked vehicles are preventing the passage of low beds containing heavy equipment.

An area restriction has been issued to clear this area of recreationalists and allow free movement of equipment and staff to the fire site.

Checkpoints have been established on the Harrison East Forest Service Road at the 15-kilometre and 42.5-kilometre marks, north to the Shovel Creek Forest Service Road, and eastward to and including the Shovel Creek Forest Service Road. The area extends along the eastern shore of Harrison Lake from Bear Creek to Stokke Creek.

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/

There are four officers, 60 firefighters, a water tender, six helicopters and airtanker support (as required) working on the fire at this time.

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

You can also follow the latest wildfire news:

• On Twitter: http://twitter.com/BCGovFireInfo
• On Facebook: http://facebook.com/BCForestFireInfo