Residents near Gun Lake, B.C., ordered to evacuate immediately due to growing wildfire north of Whistler
CBC News | Posted: August 2, 2023 3:00 AM | Last Updated: August 2, 2023
Squamish-Lillooet Regional District says order in place for areas surrounding Gun Lake and Lajoie Lake
Regional officials say a wildfire north of Whistler, B.C., is "critical" and have told residents they must evacuate immediately.
The Squamish-Lillooet Regional District (SLRD) says an evacuation order covers all properties around the Downton Lake fire in the Bridge River Valley north of Pemberton, which includes Gun Lake and Lajoie Lake near Gold Bridge, B.C — about 80 kilometers north of Whistler.
The blaze has more than doubled in size since Monday when flames raced eastward on the steep northern hillsides above Gun Lake and its more than 200 cabins.
The blaze is located 300 kilometres north of Vancouver, with Gun Lake being a popular recreational area in the summertime.
The fire has grown to 15.6 square kilometres in size as of Tuesday night — a significant growth over previous estimates — according to the B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS).
The SLRD says the RCMP and other agencies will be expediting the evacuation order, calling the situation "critical" in a tweet and telling residents to immediately evacuate from their homes and avoid the fire burning on the west side of Gun Lake.
An evacuation alert — which means residents should be prepared to leave at a moment's notice — has been issued for areas further north and east of Gun Lake, including Tyaughton Lake in Electoral Area A.
Evacuees are being told to leave via Gold Bridge, to the east of Gun Lake, and onward towards either Lillooet or Whistler, B.C.
The BCWS says the fire has been burning since July 13 and is suspected to have been sparked by lightning. It says recent growth on the fire was observed on its north and east flanks, closest to Gun Lake.
Emergency Info B.C. said in a tweet that failing to leave could endanger residents or first responders battling the blaze.
WATCH | Fire near Gun Lake burns on hillside:
"Accommodation in the area is limited. Make arrangements to stay with family and friends, if possible," the evacuation order said.
If emergency support services are required, evacuees are told to go to the Lillooet District Rec Centre or the Delta Hotel in Whistler.
The wildfire service said in a statement that the safety of the public would be their top priority, and they would continue to work closely with the regional district, B.C. Hydro and the Gun Lake Fire Brigade.
John Rose, 81, who has a house on the east side of Gun Lake, says 10 or 15 homes are likely destroyed in the blaze. He says he is staying put as he does not think the sparks from the fire — on the west side of Gun Lake — will reach his property.
"Most of the people have left the lake," he told CBC News on Tuesday evening.
Rose says his property is the oldest on Gun Lake, and has been around since 1945.
"I built this house when I retired. I want to save it," he said. "I'm not being a hero or anything, if I wasn't here to keep my sprinkler system going, I don't know if anyone else could."
Peter Kimber, who owns the Gold Bridge Hotel Cafe and Bar, told CBC News that 55 firefighters and support staff were staying at his hotel as they battled the blaze. He says the flames had reached the shores of Gun Lake.
"In Gold Bridge, where I am right now, you can't see the flames very well because there's another small hill in front," he said on Tuesday night. "But when you go around that hill, you see definite huge flames.
"We were able to see the entire mountainside starting to burn and work its way down, unfortunately."
It is unclear how many people are currently in the Gun Lake area, but Kimber says there are dozens of people who reside there during the summer.