A 406-hectare wildfire 40 kilometres east of Clinton is still giving crews a fight helped by steep terrain, increased temperatures and winds blowing down the valley.

The Big Bar Creek wildfire is now 80 per cent contained as more than 100 personnel, two helicopters and numerous pieces of heavy equipment are battling the flames, said Jenny Fremlin, Cariboo Fire Centre information officer.

The wildfire was first discovered Tuesday and led to a Thompson Nicola Regional District evacuation order, which was downgraded to an alert on Wednesday. It's no longer threatening structures, said Fremlin.

Most of the 40 people in about 15 homes had defied the earlier command to get out, saying they were confident of their escape plans.

Crews have been making their way up the steep slopes with hoses and hand tools over the last few days and are continuing to mop-up hot spots.

"They're making really good progress," said Fremlin.

Meanwhile Kamloops Fire Centre personnel are fighting their own "stubborn" blaze about 10 kilometres northeast of Mabel Lake, according to Kevin Skrepnek, Kamloops Fire Centre information officer.

The Cottonwood Creek fire has been burning since Wednesday and was 30 hectares in size as of Sunday afternoon. Around 35 firefighters are in the area aided by heavy equipment and helicopters.

An air tanker also helped out by dropping loads of water scooped up from nearby Mabel Lake on Saturday.

"It's burning it very challenging terrain," said Skrepnek. "It's heavy fuel on the ground so there's lots of fallen trees so it's burning very thick fuel. So it's making it very challenging to build a containment line around it."

The good news is the fire is in a remote area so it's not threatening structures, he said.

With the end of summer within sight, cooler temperatures and rain last week led the Kamloops Fire Centre to lift a ban on campfires in all areas except Penticton and Vernon.

And the 79 firefighting personnel from Ontario and Yukon who travelled to B.C. on Aug. 18 to help out, including 36 to Kamloops, will be returning home Monday.

"Because of the better weather we've seen and the decreasing chances of lightning we're expecting over the next couple of weeks, we've assessed that we will not need the additional resources," said Fiona Tollovsen, provincial Wildfire Management Branch representative.

The branch hasn't yet added up the cost of bringing the personnel to B.C.