Staff writer
Arrow Lakes News
Residents who have been living under an evacuation alert due to the Mt. Aylwin wildfire can breathe a little easier: the alert affecting 35 people south of Silverton has been lifted.
The Regional District of Central Kootenay made the announcement based on a recommendation from the BC Wildfire Service.
“The RDCK thanks residents for their cooperation during the evacuation alert and expresses deep gratitude to the firefighting crews who have been working hard to keep our residents and their homes safe,” a statement read.
Cooler temperatures and rain have helped cool the blaze and crews will be working towards mop up in the next few days, according to fire information officer Jordan Turner.
A 20-person unit crew from Revelstoke is working directly on the fire putting out hot spots.
“We believe the risk [to residents] is substantially reduced,” Turner said Tuesday morning, adding the alert was issued on Saturday as the fire was burning “quite hot and dry, and burning at night and was fairly intense.”
Crews constructed a helipad to gain better access to the blaze as the ground is quite steep making the access difficult and time consuming. This has allowed the firefighters to get onsite earlier and stay later.