The village of Ashcroft may be small in population (1,670), but it is large in area (55.86 km²). Furthermore, the Shetland Creek bushfire rages in the south-western corner, just off Highway 1.

That’s why Ashcroft Fire Rescue Chief Josh White makes as many as five patrols a day to monitor the town’s southern boundary, more than 6 miles from the fire station in the center. His route takes him along Highway 1 through the Ashcroft Ranch estate, with the Cornwall Hills to the west, and then along Hat Creek Road — also known as Oregon Jack Road — into the Oregon Jack Valley.

The well-maintained dirt road has only nine properties along its winding path, which begins in grassland near the highway and climbs steeply to reach the tree line, where the township borders. The Shetland Creek wildfire began more than 25 kilometres south of the area on July 12; more than a week later, on July 21, it had reached Oregon Jack Road but had not yet crossed its lower reaches.

White smoke billows across the grassland just above Highway 1. Although the area’s sage is a potent fuel source, spot fires have been confined to stubble, finding little traction despite the region’s recent scorching heat, which has seen temperatures soar to 108 degrees Fahrenheit with no precipitation.

The road enters the treeline, where the scars of a major fire along the eastern side of the Cornwall Hills in 2003 are still visible. Young trees have sprouted from the ground since the fire, but there are still jagged, charred stumps and ash-colored fallen trees that mark the spots where the fire passed more than two decades ago.

Beyond the Ashcroft boundary, the road winds deeper into the trees and bends to the right. On the left, the shadow of an old logging road leads to the area known as Young Flats, which is bathed in ghostly gray smoke. Further along the road, a column of smoke rises from the north flank of White Mountain, but the first flames appear later, on the south side of the road. They are small and scattered, each about the size of a campfire, and while to the untrained eye any uncontrolled fire in a forest looks frightening, White explains that the small, low flames are reassuring, an indication that the fire is not spreading quickly or finding much room to grow.

The first building appears on the left, its gate festooned with brightly colored tape—red, yellow, green—signaling that building safety crews are on site installing equipment. Sprinklers on the roof of an outbuilding and house are connected to orange hoses. These in turn are connected to pumps that draw water from a nearby natural spring (if available) or from bladders filled with water, and White says they can be activated at any time: not to put out a fire, but to create a moisture bubble around the building to protect it.

Residents of Oregon Jack Road have been evacuated, but the road is busy with structural protection crews, fire crews and equipment, including a water tender. The driver of the parked tender says he was told some cattle were coming down the road, and there they are: a wall of cattle, a cowboy on horseback behind them, herding them off the high ground and into safer pastures in the grassland.

White says the patrols give him and his team an idea of ​​where the fire is and how fast it’s moving. “It gives us a visual picture so we can take a breather and assess where the fire is in relation to the point of engagement.”

Where that point of engagement is depends on the speed of the fire and the wind. The nearest building within the Village of Ashcroft boundaries is nearly five miles from the southern edge of town, and while Ashcroft Fire Rescue fights wildfires “within reason,” members generally only respond to a grass fire if it threatens to become an interface fire and threaten structures.

A vehicle bearing the Shuswap Fire Department name and logo drives by. Nearly 200 firefighters are battling the blaze, including night shifts and firefighters from the Shuswap, Anglemont, Eagle Bay, Ranchero Deep Creek, Tappen Sunnybrae and Logan Lake fire departments, who have stopped their normal lives to help.

“They’re working hard here,” White said. “The fire hasn’t even crossed the road yet and I’m impressed with what they’re doing.”