‘Aggressive’ weather could spark more fires in the interior

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WILLIAMS LAKE (NEWS 1130) – As crews battle more than 200 wildfires across the province, the BC Wildfire Service is not expecting much reprieve when it comes to the weather.

“We are expecting a continuation of hot and dry conditions across the south, with aggressive weather coming in to the central part of the province tomorrow,” says Chief Fire Information Officer Kevin Skrepnek with the BC Wildfire Service.

“Potential winds, potential lightning not a whole lot of rain forecast at all for the southern half of the province at the moment.”

The BC Wildfire Service reports there are already 25 lightning-caused fires burning in BC’s Southeast Fire Centre –however, none of them are immediately threatening any communities or homes.

As of Tuesday afternoon, there are more than 43,000 hectares burning, with around 35 new fires sparked yesterday. At least 14,000 people have been forced from their homes, and another 10,000 could soon join them as an evacuation alert is in place for Williams Lake.

Doctor Bonnie Henry, BC’s deputy provincial health officer, adds several air quality advisories are in effect.

“People who have chronic diseases including asthma, COPD, heart disease and diabetes, as well as pregnant women, infants, small children and seniors are also at most risk of having the complications,” she says, adding the mental health of those impacted must also be considered.

According to the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, some of the 310 firefighting resources from across the country started arriving in BC on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the community of Quesnel is being warned about people claiming to be false “Fire Marshals” serving evacuation alerts to locals. 

In a Facebook post, Mayor Bob Simpson says individuals wearing “some form of uniform” or “high-viz vests” have been knocking on people’s doors in various areas around Quesnel. He adds only RCMP officers or other “clearly identifiable” peace officer will issue orders, as well as show you a signed copy of that order. 

Williams Lake under evacuation alert

The entire population of Williams Lake — more than 10,000 people — has been told to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice, because of an unpredictable fire to the west that has the potential to move rapidly toward the city with gusty winds and lightning in the forecast.

The evacuation alert was issued late yesterday and some residents are already choosing to leave.

“Everyone is nervous. Some are leaving and others are preparing and nobody is going to work,” says Garry, whose gas station is one of two in town that still has fuel.

Garry says it is also difficult to breathe outside as thick smoke blankets the region.

“You can barely see 200 metres. That’s it. You can’t see the mountains. Looking out of my gas station, you can’t even see across the road.”

“There’s a lot of concern, a lot of uncertainty,” says Williams Lake Mayor Walt Cobb.

“Do we go, don’t we go? How do we make sure we’ve got everything ready if we do go? We’re asking people to be calm and be a little bit thoughtful of what they’re going to take with them, and make sure they got, if necessary — if they have any medication, make sure they have enough for two or three days so that if they end up in an evacuation centre somewhere, and can’t get to a drug store to get their medication, to be prepared for at least three days.”

For some people, it could be a case of packing up again. Cobb says hundreds of people were staying Williams Lake after being displaced elsewhere due to wildfires, including his son.

“My son has been evacuated and he’s now moved in with us,” says Cobb. “His wife was in Prince George and she can’t get home, so she’s gone and registered with the evacuation centre there, because that’s where we will have to go when the time comes, if the time comes.”

Cobb asks everybody to drive out of Williams Lake in a safe, considerate way if an evacuation order is issued.

The evacuation alert for Williams Lake was put in place as a precaution.

Chair of the Cariboo Regional District Al Richmond encourages anyone choosing to leave city early to give some thought to where they’re going.

“Given the highway is closed south of Williams Lake, we are limited to having them go north. We want to ensure people are prepared and have as much time as possible to understand where they are going.”

Some of the big fires around the region:

Cache Creek/Ashcroft
Estimated Size: 7,300 hectares
Evacuation Alerts/Orders: Entire village of Cache Creek has been ordered to evacuate, as well as many properties in the surrounding areas. For more, click here.

The Thompson-Nicola Regional District has declared a local state of emergency.

Sections of Highway 1 and Highway 97C have been blocked off near Ashcroft.

100 Mile House – “Gustafsen Fire”
Estimated Size: 5,000 hectares
Evacuation Alerts/Orders: 3,000+ people have been told to evacuate. For more, click here.

The wildfire near 100 Mile House in the southern Cariboo region has been spreading fast, forcing a number of people out of their homes and putting more on evacuation alert.

Two reception centres have been set up at the curling rink in 100 Mile House and the Ramada hotel in Williams Lake.

Williams Lake

Estimated Size: 5,100 hectares
Evacuation Alerts/Orders:The Cariboo Regional District has issued evacuation orders for the Wildwood area because of this fire. A city wide evacuation alert has been issued for Williams Lake.

 

Princeton
Estimated Size: 2,700 hectares
Evacuation Alerts/Orders: Wildfire 10 kilometres north of Princeton has prompted the evacuation of hundreds of properties. A new mandatory evacuation order has been issued for 49 homes along Princeton Summerland Road north of Princeton

Chief William/150 Mile House

Estimated Size: 2,500 hectares
Evacuation Alerts/Orders: The wildfire one kilometre north of Chief William has caused evacuation orders to be issued for the South Lakeside area and Lexington Subdivision at Williams Lake. The evacuation order for 150 Mile House has also been updated.

Hanceville/Chilcotin fires

Estimated Size: 10,000 hectares

Evacuation Alerts/Orders:This incident involves numerous fires in a area of approximately 100,000 hectares. The Cariboo Regional District has issued an evacuation order for some residents along Highway 20 from 2.5 km west of Alexis Creek to 1 km east of Raven Lake Road. The order includes the communities of Alexis Creek and Hanceville.

Dragon Mountain

Estimated Size: 1,500 hectares
Evacuation Alerts/Orders: An evacuation alert has been issued by the Cariboo Regional district for properties near Dragon Mountain.

Drive BC has closed sections of several highways across the province because of forest fires. Updates on road closures can be found here.

Click here for Environment Canada’s up-to-the-minute smoke forecast.

Emergency Management BC is also setting up a new website for anyone needing updates. You can find that here.

If you see smoke, flames or any other fire concerns, call *5555 or 1-800-663-5555

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