Bush Creek East Part of the 2023 Canada wildfires | |
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Date(s) | July 12, 2023 – December 13, 2023 |
Location | Adams Lake and Shuswap Lake |
Statistics | |
Total area | 45,613 hectares (112,710 acres) |
Impacts | |
Evacuated | 3500 properties |
Structures destroyed | 270 |
Damage | 240,000,000 CAD |
Ignition | |
Cause | Lightning |
Map | |
The Bush Creek East fire was a wildfire in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The fire caused a major loss of structures and forced the evacuation of thousands of residents. The communities of Squilax, Lee Creek, Adams Lake, Scotch Creek, and Celista were heavily impacted by the fire. The fire was listed as "being held" in September 2023 at a size of 45,613 hectares (112,710 acres), and was declared out in December of 2023. [1]
Western Canada has seen a climate change-induced warming and drying trend since the mid-2000s. The province of B.C. experienced major fire seasons in 2017, 2018, and 2021, with burned areas far exceeding yearly averages. [2] Much of the province went into 2023 in drought conditions made worse by a hot, dry fall season in 2022 and lower than average snowfall over the winter. The Shuswap and Okanagan regions saw average temperatures of 2 degrees Celsius above normal during the summer, with extremely low amounts of precipitation. [3]
The conflagration started as two separate fires, first detected on July 12, 2023. The first, Bush Creek East, started on a ridge near Bush Creek between Adams Lake and Sun Peaks to the west. The second, called Lower Adams Lake East, started on the steep eastern shores of Adams Lake. Both were assessed to by caused by lightning, the result of a series of thunderstorms that passed over the area on July 11 and 12. [4]
The two fires experienced moderate spread for over a month, before spreading rapidly on August 19 and 20. A cold front caused strong 40 km/h winds from the north, causing a massive fire expansion. BC Wildfire officers reported a 20 km growth of the perimeter in 12 hours, a rate of growth "unheard of in B.C. wildfire activity". [5] The expanded fire destroyed 270 structures in the North Shuswap area, with severe damages to the Little Shuswap Band, Scotch Creek, and Celista communities. [6] 3500 properties were placed under evacuation orders. [6] 174 buildings were lost in the Columbia-Shuswap Regional District, 9 in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, and 85 in the Skwlax First Nation. [7] The fire caused over 240 million Canadian dollars in insured damage. [6]
Salmon Arm is a city in the Columbia Shuswap Regional District of the Southern Interior of the Canadian province of British Columbia that has a population of 17,706 (2016). Salmon Arm was incorporated as a municipal district on May 15, 2005. The city of Salmon Arm separated from the district in 1912, but was downgraded to a village in 1958. In 1970, the city of Salmon Arm once again reunited with the District Municipality. Salmon Arm once again became a city in 2005, and is now the location of the head offices of the Columbia-Shuswap Regional District. It is a tourist town in the summer, with many beaches, camping facilities and house boat rentals. Salmon Arm is home to the longest wooden freshwater wharf in North America.
The Columbia–Shuswap Regional District is a regional district in the Canadian province of British Columbia, located in the Southern Interior region on the Trans-Canada Highway between Vancouver and Calgary, Alberta. The regional district borders the Province of Alberta across the Rocky Mountains.
Shuswap Lake is a lake located in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada that drains via the Little Shuswap River into Little Shuswap Lake. Little Shuswap Lake is the source of the South Thompson River, a branch of the Thompson River, a tributary of the Fraser River. It is at the heart of a region known as the Columbia Shuswap or "the Shuswap", noted for its recreational lakeshore communities including the city of Salmon Arm. The name "Shuswap" is derived from the Shuswap or Secwepemc First Nations people, the most northern of the Interior Salish peoples, whose territory includes the Shuswap. The Shuswap call themselves /ʃǝxwépmǝx/ in their own language, which is called /ʃǝxwepmǝxtʃín/.
Sicamous is a district municipality in the Shuswap Country region of south central British Columbia. The place is adjacent to the narrows, which is the confluence of Mara Lake into Shuswap Lake. At the BC Highway 97A intersection on BC Highway 1, the locality is by road about 73 kilometres (45 mi) west of Revelstoke, 140 kilometres (87 mi) east of Kamloops, and 75 kilometres (47 mi) north of Vernon.
Adams Lake is a deep, cold-water lake in south-central British Columbia, which separates the Thompson and Shuswap regions and the Thompson–Nicola and Columbia–Shuswap regional districts. The upper reaches lie in the northern Monashee Mountains, while the lower end penetrates the Shuswap Highland. The southern end is by road about 79 kilometres (49 mi) northeast of Kamloops.
The basin of the Shuswap River lies northeast of the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia, originating in the central Monashee Mountains. It is the upper part of the drainage better known to British Columbians as belonging to Shuswap Lake and the South Thompson River. The river's drainage basin is over 1,969 square kilometres (760 sq mi) in area.
Adams Lake Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. It encompasses three distinct parks: Adams Lake Provincial Park, Adams Lake Marine Provincial Park, and Adams Lake Marine Provincial Park.
Tsútswecw Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, located northeast of Kamloops and northwest of Salmon Arm. It stretches along the banks of the Adams River, between the south end of Adams Lake and the western portion of Shuswap Lake.
Shuswap Lake Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada.
The Okanagan Indian Band is a First Nations government in the Canadian province of British Columbia, located in the city of Vernon in the northern Okanagan Valley. The band is a member government of the Okanagan Nation Alliance.
The Shuswap Country, or simply the Shuswap and called Secwepemcúl̓ecw in Secwepemctsín, is a term used in the Canadian province of British Columbia to refer to the environs of Shuswap Lake. The upper reaches of the Shuswap basin, southeast of Shuswap Lake and northeast of the Okanagan, are generally considered to be part of Okanagan or of the Monashee Country rather than "the Shuswap". Roughly defined, the Shuswap Country begins on its west at the town of Chase, located on Little Shuswap Lake, west of which is the South Thompson area of the Thompson Country, and includes Adams Lake to the northwest of Shuswap Lake as well as communities in the Eagle River area as far as Craigellachie and/or Three Valley Gap, which is at the summit of Eagle Pass, beyond which eastwards is the Columbia Country.
Mara Lake is a lake in the Shuswap Country region of south central British Columbia, Canada. To the west is Hyde Mountain and east is Morton Peak. The outlet of the Shuswap River forms the upper reaches. The lower end enters the narrows at Sicamous and flows into Shuswap Lake. The northern end of Mara Lake is by road about 73 kilometres (45 mi) west of Revelstoke, 140 kilometres (87 mi) east of Kamloops, and 75 kilometres (47 mi) north of Vernon.
Adams River is a tributary to the Thompson and Fraser Rivers in British Columbia, Canada. Beginning in the Monashee Mountains to the north, the Upper Adams River flows mainly southward and eventually reaches Adams Lake. The Lower Adams River begins at the southern end of the lake and flows into the extreme western end of Shuswap Lake. The river is one of the most important sockeye salmon breeding areas in North America. The run occurs in mid-October and can bring millions of fish to a concentrated area near the river mouth. Excavations of Secwepemc villages on the river have shown a long tradition of habitation and salmon fishing in the area. The river also served as an important transportation route for early logging operations in the watershed.
The Okanagan Regional Library (ORL) system serves the Okanagan region of the Canadian province of British Columbia. Its administrative headquarters are in Kelowna. The system covers 59,000 square kilometers of area, and serves 360,000 people through 30 branches. ORL was founded in 1936. In 2013, the library held 3.2 million physical items. The library is largely funded through tax revenues from four administrative areas, the Regional District of North Okanagan, the Regional District of Central Okanagan, the Columbia-Shuswap Regional District, and the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen. It also receives funding from the provincial and federal governments.
On July 6, 2017, a two-hectare wildfire began west of 100 Mile House, British Columbia, Canada marking the beginning of the record-breaking 2017 wildfire season in British Columbia. On July 7, 56 new fires started throughout British Columbia (BC) leading to several evacuation alerts, orders and the declaration of a provincial state of emergency by the Government of British Columbia. By September 12, 158 fires were burning throughout the province. A total of 12,161 square kilometres had burned by the end of the 2017 fire season, the largest total area burned in a fire season in recorded history. This record was broken the following year, with five of BC's worst 10 fire seasons occurring since 2010. However, the 2017 fire season was also notable for the largest number of total evacuees in a fire season, as well as for the largest single fire ever in British Columbia. Research indicates that human-caused climate change played a significant role in the fires.
White Lake Grasslands Protected Area is a conservation site located in the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen of British Columbia, Canada. It was established on April 18, 2001 by an order-in-council under the Environment and Land Use Act to protect the semi-arid grassland and pine forest ecosystem west of Vaseux Lake.
The White Rock Lake fire was a wildfire in Thompson-Nicola Regional District, British Columbia. It began July 13, 2021 as one of the 2021 B.C. wildfires and resulted in the destruction of Monte Lake. It totalled 83,047 hectares and was classified as out of control. Insured losses total an estimated $77 million Canadian Dollars, according to one agency, which in late September expected the number of claims to top 800, most of them related to residential property.
The McDougall Creek Fire was a wildfire in the Okanagan region of British Columbia, Canada as part of the 2023 Canadian wildfires. It started near West Kelowna on August 15, 2023, and was discovered at 5:59 pm PDT. The wildfire forced the evacuation of West Kelowna and parts of Kelowna.
Kamloops—Shuswap—Central Rockies is a future federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada.
Vernon—Lake Country—Monashee is a future federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada.