After three and a half weeks, the wildfire burning east of EC Manning Park is now under control.
The Placer Creek fire grew to 3,135 hectares.
When a fire is under control, it means it is not projected to spread beyond the current perimeter.
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The Lower Similkameen Indian Band said the fire was a challenging one for firefighters.
According to the BC Wildfire Service, the Placer Forest Service Road remains closed to ensure the safety of the public and first responders.
An incident management team, 41 firefighters, and two pieces of heavy equipment worked on the fire on Tuesday.
It is suspected the fire was caused by humans, which can mean an intentional fire was set or it was caused by accident.
However, the LSIB said the fire was completely preventable.
“Since its discovery on July 12, the fire has challenged firefighters, aviation resources, equipment operators and incident management team,” the band said in a news release.
“This fire was preventable. It was person-caused. All the hours spent on the fire line, behind the scenes, in the finance and logistics, in the office, in the air above the fire, for the personnel sleeping in tents and those living in the area or driving by and seeing smoke and having anxiety … this didn’t have to happen.”
Crews with the BCWS continue to mop up the fire and will likely continue working on it until it is extinguished.
