New out of control fire discovered Friday east of Jones Lake (Wahleach Lake)

JONES (WAHLEACH) LAKE — BC Wildfire Service reports that a new wildfire has been discovered east of Jones Lake, also known as Wahleach Lake, east of Popkum and Chilliwack.

According to the BC Wildfire Service dashboard, the Sowerby Creek fire was first discovered on Friday, September 8 at 9:47 p.m. It is now 20 hectares in size, according to the last update on Tuesday, Sept. 12, at 3:18 p.m.

Provincial wildfire personnel are monitoring it at this point, meaning they aren’t responding or deploying resources to suppress it.

When a fire is being monitored, this essentially means that BC Wildfire Service staff are observing and analyzing the fire but it’s not immediately suppressed. It may be allowed to burn to achieve ecological or resource management objectives and is used on remote fires that do not threaten values.