Progress made on several B.C. wildfires but many still rage

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Officials in B.C. are helping co-ordinate the evacuation of Jasper National Park in Alberta while also managing around 430 wildfires burning from Vancouver Island to the province's far northeast.

Some progress has been made on notable wildfires despite unstable weather conditions Monday as severe thunderstorms and strong winds rolled through the province's Interior and north.

A persistent heat wave throughout July has dried out forests in many parts of B.C., setting the stage for potentially extreme fire behaviour.

Lightning is the cause of the vast majority of the approximately 430 fires burning across B.C. and a bulletin from the service says the province saw more than 20,000 strikes on Monday.

There have been evacuation orders for more than 440 properties and alerts for over 3,000 in a situation the Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness has called "dynamic and ever-changing."

B.C. is seeing increasingly hotter, drier summers and fire seasons that start earlier and last longer than they did a decade ago, and Environment Canada expects wildfires to grow more intense and happen more often thanks to human-caused climate change.

"This is, unfortunately, the beginning of the fire season that we were concerned about," Premier David Eby said during an unrelated news conference Monday.

Several detours are in effect due to wildfires, with the Ministry of Transportation warning more roads and highways could be closed with little notice. Drivers are advised to visit drivebc.ca for the latest information.

Evacuees from Alberta

B.C. Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma says B.C. is providing "safe passage" to thousands of evacuees from neighbouring Alberta, where a fast-moving wildfire is threatening the community of Jasper, Alta., and its eponymous national park.

Residents and visitors were told to take Highway 16 into B.C., rather than heading farther east into Alberta where highways have been closed.

Wildfires in the region have also closed B.C's Highway 16 eastbound from Tête Jaune Cache toward the Alberta border, covering Mount Robson Provincial Park. The westbound lane was to remain open for evacuees.

WATCH | A difficult night for tourists from Jasper: 

Jasper evacuee shares experience fleeing wildfire in the night

4 months ago

Duration 3:43

Jina Mousseau describes the scramble to evacuate from Jasper, Alta., from getting gas and bottled water to the long drive on a busy highway. 'The smoke was super heavy.... You could see ash falling on the windshield,' she recalls.

Because of these closures, Alberta evacuees have been asked to take a circuitous route through B.C. to reception centres in Grande Prairie, Alta., and Calgary.

This, Ma said, is because Alberta is able to offer longer-term support. Many B.C. communities are already at capacity with tourists and evacuees from wildfires in their own province, she said.

Sugar Lake

The Regional District of North Okanagan (RDNO) has placed the east side of Sugar Lake, which is around 90 kilometres northwest of Kelowna, under an evacuation order due to the Sitkum Creek Wildfire.

The fire was discovered last week, and is around 15 square kilometres in size as of 11 p.m. PT on Tuesday.

The district says the order affects three large properties, with one containing 10 seasonal campsites. It added that there are no permanent residences in the area. 

There's also an evacuation alert that covers 11 properties, including that one that contains 76 campsites, according to the RDNO.

Wells Gray Park partially evacuated

Some Jasper evacuees have headed for Clearwater, B.C., about 100 kilometres north of Kamloops, according to its mayor, Merlin Blackwell. 

Another wildfire was discovered Tuesday just outside the city, on Clearwater Peak. According to the B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS), it was caused by lightning and it is listed as out of control as of Tuesday afternoon.

Another 60 kilometres north, Wells Gray Provincial Park has been partially closed due to a wildfire near Murtle Lake. The park is a hot destination for campers, canoers, kayakers and hikers.

Regional director Steven Hodgson ordered recreational park users to immediately evacuate on Tuesday.

Sooke fire growing quickly

A fire that broke out near Sooke, B.C., on Monday has quickly grown. 

That afternoon, Sooke Potholes Park on Vancouver Island was closed due to a wildfire detected near Mavis Lake. At the time, the fire was about 0.05 square kilometrs.

By Tuesday afternoon, according to the B.C. Wildfire Service, it had grown to about 0.5 square kilometres.  

The service says the wildfire was caused by humans — a broad category which includes accidents and intentional fires — and is currently out of control.

Williams Lake

On Tuesday, the BCWS listed the River Valley wildfire in Williams Lake, B.C. as being held, a designation that means crews don't expect it to expand at this point.

The blaze was previously threatening the city, parts of which had to be evacuated for weeks in 2017 due to wildfires. 

By Tuesday afternoon, the city has lifted its evacuation alert and reopened Williams Lake, the body of water, for recreational use. 

It has asked people to stay away from the River Valley as crews use the area to respond to the fire. 

On Monday night, Interior Health said it had relocated 21 residents from a long-term care home in the fire's vicinity.

Barkerville and Wells

Two other communities in the Cariboo region — Wells and Barkerville — are under evacuation order due to the Antler Creek wildfire just southeast of the community. The evacuation order also extends to Bowron Lake Provincial Park.

On Tuesday afternoon, the BCWS said the fire had expanded beyond  140 square kilometres, and was now just three kilometres from Wells and Barkerville. The new areas of growth don't present immediate threats to these two communities, however, according to a Facebook post by the District of Wells. 

The wildfire service also said it had managed to establish control lines and a "humidity bubble" in Barkerville and the surrounding area to minimize the risk of the old, wooden buildings burning.

The service said it was expecting the fire to increase in size in the coming days, as it could merge with other, smaller blazes in the area.

The Wells Hotel shared a photo Tuesday morning on Facebook showing blue skies and a wet street. "The magic showed up last night in the form of torrential rain, and we're all breathing much easier," the caption read.

But the District of Wells said burning conditions can rebound quickly, so it's still "too early" to forecast a timeline for withdrawing the evacuation order.

The district does say in its post that the BCWS expects "productive days" ahead due to "cooler temperatures, higher relative humidities and a chance of scattered precipitation."

Fires pop up in Kamloops

Kamloops fire Chief Ken Uzeloc said Tuesday that lightning strikes sparked two fires in the city Monday evening — one near Peterson Creek, and another near the Rose Hill neighbourhood — that were extinguished by 5:30 a.m.

"Everything's dry again from the heat event we've had from the last couple weeks, and the wind," he said. "So it doesn't take much."

Shetland Creek, Kootenays wildfires

Another wildfire of note is the Shetland Creek fire, which has put thousands of people on alert in the Ashcroft area west of Kamloops after forcing evacuations on Friday that were expanded Monday.

The wildfire, last measured at just under 20 square kilometres, forced the closure of Highway 1 between Ashcroft and Spences Bridge throughout Monday. The BCWS has since recommended the highway's re-opening Tuesday afternoon, citing a "decrease in fire behaviour on the eastern flank." 

The blaze had also destroyed more than 20 structures in the Venables Valley, where it is burning out of control. 

Colton Davies, the the Thompson-Nicola Regional District's emergency operations centre information officer, said that figure includes six primary residences, and emergency officials had met late Monday with people whose homes may have been lost.

In the east, the Aylwin Creek and Komonko Creek fires in the Central Kootenays have placed hundreds of people on evacuation alert.

WATCH | Nakusp locals take wildfire fighting into their own hands: 

Nakusp residents jump into action to fight wildfires

4 months ago

Duration 1:51

B.C.'s escalating fire situation has many residents on edge. In Nakusp, some residents are choosing to jump into action and take matters into their own hands to fight wildfires. They fear the logging roads would pose a challenge for local firefighters.

Silverton, B.C., Mayor Tanya Gordon told The Canadian Press the weather has cleared the smoke near the Central Kootenay village, but it has added to residents' anxiety because people can now easily see the Aylwin and Komonko Creek fires burning just south of the community.

Gordon said the village has not received any updates from the wildfire service on the status of the fires, and residents are "anxious" as Highway 6 southbound out of town has been closed.

WATCH | Silverton mayor discusses fires near her community: 

Silverton's mayor talks about wildfires raging in the Kootenays

4 months ago

Duration 3:11

More than 100 properties south of Silverton village are on evacuation order due to the Slocan Lakes Fire Complex. The entire village and its surroundings are also on evacuation alert. We spoke with Silverton's mayor about the wildfire situation and how residents are feeling.

"The smoke has lifted, and it's becoming more real," Gordon said. "Something like this hasn't happened [in Silverton] for a long time."