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VIDEO: Langley Mounties head to 100 Mile House as it battles nearby wildfire

Flat Lake wildfire in the South Cariboo region was first discovered July 8

There are currently thousands of firefighters working to contain hundreds of wildfires burning across the province, and doing their part, right alongside them, are some Langley Mounties.

The Flat Lake wildfire first discovered on July 8 remains active as of Wednesday, according to BC Wildfire Service, which categorized that 53,000 hectare blaze as a wildfire of note.

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The “out of control” blaze, suspected to be caused by lighting, is burning 27 kilometres southwest of 100 Mile House, west of Flat Lake – as a result, the District of 100 Mile House was put on evacuation alert July 14.

Since then, members of the Langley RCMP detachment have been patrolling parts of 100 Mile House in search of new fires that might otherwise go unnoticed, while being available to support residents of the community should the evacuation alert upgrade to an order, explained Cpl. Holly Largy, media relations officer with Langley RCMP.

In photos and video shared online in late July Mounties shared the destruction of the fire that has been burning for a month.

Sgt. Rebecca Parslow with the local detachment returned from the South Cariboo about two weeks ago.

“The Langley RCMP and other RCMP resources from around the province are joining together to support those regions of the province that are affected by wildfires,” Parslow told the Langley Advance Times.

As of Thursday there were 10o firefighters battling the blaze, and 15 helicopters available for additional support.

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“The joint operation with our brother and sisters from other detachments was extremely rewarding and one of the reasons I joined the RCMP,” Parslow continued.

“No other police force has the ability to band together at a moments notice to support other regions of the province and/or country during a crisis. The community of 100 Mile House, while in the midst of great stress, were greatly appreciative of the support they have received from the RCMP, BC Wildfire, B.C. [Ministry of Transportation], and Department of Fisheries.”

“We tagged the pictures #strongertogether, for a reason.”

For more information on evacuation alert visit www.100milehouse.com/district-services/emergency-services/wildfire-information.


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