The Sooke wildfire, also known as Old Man Lake Fire, has doubled in size over the past 24 hours.
In the latest update from BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) Wednesday afternoon, the fire is now sitting at 169 hectares.
In a media release, the Capital Regional District (CRD) said the wildfire, which broke out near Sooke Potholes on July 22nd, has now spread into Sea to Sea Regional Park.
As a precaution, the CRD has closed several regional parks and trails in the area, including:
- Sea to Sea Regional Park
- Sooke Potholes Regional Park
- Spring Salmon Place (KWL-UCHUN) Campground
- The Galloping Goose Regional Trail is closed northbound at Kilometre 46, just south of the Todd Creek Trestle, at the boundary of Sea to Sea Regional Park
- Access to Kapoor Regional Park
In addition, the District of Sooke’s Potholes Gateway Park is closed, as are BC Parks in the area. Visitors are asked to avoid accessing these areas through other regional or provincial parks.
While the fire is within 5 kilometres south of the Greater Victoria watershed lands, the fire is not currently impacting the water quality due to the terrain and wind direction.
According to the CRD, the water quality could be impacted if the fire reaches the watershed lands, as ash and debris in Sooke Lake Reservoir could lead to increased turbidity, which they say could impact the effectiveness of the water treatment process.
“The CRD is working with BCWS to identify lines of containment between the wildfire and the watershed lands,” said the CRD in their statement.
Concerns have been raised online as to why firefighting planes were using Shawnigan Lake rather than Sooke Lake, which is closer to the flames.
The CRD addressed this concern, stating that BCWS is not drawing water from any drinking water reservoirs in the Greater Victoria Water Supply Area (Sooke Lake) as a precaution to prevent source water contamination from aircraft filling up with water and from any potential aircraft mechanical issues.
The Sooke Lake Reservoir is currently at 80% capacity, which is within the normal range for this time of year.
There are four BC Wildfire Service attack crews on site as well as 10 Capital Regional District contractors.
A number of helicopters and fixed-wing planes are assisting with the fire.
The fire is believed to be human-caused. A smoky-skies bulletin was issued for the Victoria area late Tuesday morning and remains in place.
