Evacuation order issued in B.C.'s Central Interior after new wildfire discovered

A new out-of-control wildfire in British Columbia's Interior has sparked an evacuation order for a handful of properties near Quesnel, about 600 kilometres north of Vancouver. 

The Cariboo Regional District says the Tzenzaicut Lake wildfire, discovered on Saturday, has become enough of a threat that an evacuation order has been issued for an area west of Highway 97.

Gerald Pinchbeck, the information officer for the regional district, told CBC News the order covers three properties in the area.

"If and when the conditions do change, if the fire continues to exhibit aggressive behaviour, we would look at issuing [more] evacuation orders ... as necessary," he said.

Jessica Mack, a spokesperson with the Cariboo Fire District, said first responders did have to specifically notify residents of one property within the remote, sparsely populated evacuation zone — located west of Highway 97 between Quesnel and Williams Lake — to leave immediately due to the threatening fire.

Wider evacuation alert

According to the B.C. Wildfire Service, the Tzenzaicut blaze remains relatively small at about one square kilometre but has doubled in size since Saturday evening, and fire crews say the blaze was likely ignited by a lightning strike or other natural means.

A wider zone around the evacuation area — measuring around 870 square kilometres just south of the community of Baker Creek — has been placed on alert.

Meanwhile, the service says the Pelican Lake wildfire 300 kilometres to the west of Tzenzaicut Lake has grown to a "wildfire of note,'' and communities such as Anahim Lake and the Ulkatcho First Nation remain under an alert for possible evacuation.

Evacuation orders mean people must leave their properties immediately, while alerts mean people should be prepared to leave at a moment's notice, gathering essential items, including medication, identification and supplies for pets.

WATCH | What's the difference between an evacuation order and an alert? 

Evacuation alert vs. evacuation order: What you need to know

2 years ago

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Wildfire season has begun in B.C., and terms like 'evacuation alert' and 'evacuation order' are constantly in the news. CBC's Maurice Katz tells us the difference between the two, and more.

"Especially being heavily impacted by the fires in 2017, 2018, [and] 2021, we do understand there's a lot of anxiety out there around wildfire activity this early into the fire season," Pinchbeck said. 

"This stresses the importance for residents to be cautious in their activities, especially in the outdoors. Many of the fires we're dealing with right now are human caused."

Since April 1, more than 200 wildfires have burned in B.C., largely within the Prince George Fire Centre, which roughly covers the northeast quarter of the province. Of those fires, 85 per cent were human caused and preventable, the government said.

Open fire bans are in place throughout the province, while campfires are banned in the Prince George Fire Centre region.

Hope for rain in northeast B.C.

B.C. also continues to battle a number of major wildfires in the Peace River region close to Fort St. John, but firefighters say changing wind directions and cooler weather have helped temper those blazes so far this weekend.

Four wildfires of note remain burning in the Peace River region — the Stoddart Creek, Red Creek, Donnie Creek, and Cameron River fires. A wildfire of note is one that is particularly visible or poses a threat to public safety.

On Saturday, cooler weather and a wind shift meant that firefighters were able to conduct a planned ignition operation to inhibit the spread of the Stoddart Creek blaze, which remains burning out of control over 266.38 square kilometres northwest of Fort St. John.

A spokesperson with the Peace River Regional District said they don't expect any changes to evacuation order or alerts in effect for the region to happen Sunday.

"We have a large amount of vegetation that isn't receptive to fire," said Forrest Tower, a fire information officer. "The overall objectives of that [planned ignition] were achieved quite well and that should really limit the chance of this wildfire moving across Highway 97."

Tower told CBC News that forecasted rain for the area should help to bring the smaller fires — such as Red Creek and Cameron River — under control. The fire service is also monitoring any lightning strikes, which could cause new fires, as the rain arrives.

"The timeline, at this point, is just when we start receiving that precipitation," he said. "If we do receive the the amount that we are forecast, we're looking at a timeline of a couple of days for those smaller three fires — removing those as fires of note."