UPDATE: 8:07 p.m The Cummings Creek Wildfire, located approximately five kilometers from the town of Sparwood is now a BC Wildfire of Note managed by the Incident Management Team. At this time, the fire is not considered a threat to any structures in the area. According to BCWS, the fire is currently burning in steep, unsuitable terrain. The smoke is very visible from Sparwood and other neighboring communities. Operations personnel monitor the fire on a daily basis to continuously collect data and to determine the response strategy for the best success rate. The transport of water by helicopters to the area is not possible at this time due to inaccessible access to the water. At this time the fire is expected to have been started by lightning. PROTOTYPE Fires in the Southeast Fire Center continue to burn in the early days of August. According to the BC Wildfires of Note page, the Briggs Creek fire has grown significantly over the past 24 hours. Limited growth is expected today as the fire continues to exhibit mostly slow-burning smoldering fire characteristics. Increasing fire behavior currently occurs within the high-elevation fire perimeter, not outside of it. Sparked by lightning and discovered on August 1, crews continue to battle the blaze from the early hours of the morning until late at night using nine firefighters and a helicopter. As for the fire burning on Connell Ridge about 23 kilometers from Cranbrook, it has seen about 200 hectares of growth in the past 24 hours along the north and north-east flank. Cold temperatures have dampened the fire’s aggressiveness, but are expected to increase in the coming days. An evacuation warning has been issued by the Regional District of East Kootenay in the area of the fire. 61 firefighters have been deployed as well as six helicopters and a lot of heavy equipment. Castanet will have an update on these Kootenay fires first thing in the morning.