Fire sparked by RCMP trailer near Lytton, B.C., is being held and will be downgraded

A wildfire near Lytton, B.C., that ignited when a wheel fell off an RCMP trailer and prompted evacuations is now classified as "being held" and is no longer likely to spread.

The BC Wildfire Service says the change is due to "significant efforts" of firefighters with the help of favourable weather, which means the Izman Creek blaze will no longer be considered a wildfire of note.

Once the fire loses that classification — which designates a fire is generating particular interest, is highly visible or a threat to public safety — there will be no wildfires of note in B.C. 

The wildfire north of Lytton was sparked on July 1 by the RCMP vehicle failure in what Mounties have said was an unfortunate incident, a day after the fourth anniversary of a fire that destroyed most of the village.

The service says staff will remain on-site at the wildfire, which is listed as about 240 hectares in size, to continue mop-up and patrol to "ensure the area remains secure."

It is one of about 80 active fires across the province, about 20 per cent of which are classified as burning out of control.

The wildfire service says about 77 per cent of the fires are lightning-caused while about 20 per cent are human-caused and the rest are undetermined. 

The BC Wildfire Service also says in a post to Facebook that it has also deployed air tankers to help wildfire suppression efforts on a blaze in Washington state, south of Highway 3, between Christina Lake and Trail.

"At this time there is no threat to the Canada-US border," the post says.

Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout — BC Wildfire Service