B.C.'s coolest weather in a month aids wildfire fight
New evacuation orders in Silverton and near Golden; province still battling over 400 wildfires, officials say
The warmer-than-usual weather in British Columbia eased off Thursday, helping firefighters battle more than 400 blazes across the province.
The B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) says cooler conditions and rain in the north moved into the central Interior on Wednesday, moving temperatures closer to seasonal norms for the first time in a month.
It says the favourable forecast is giving crews a chance to make even more progress on fighting fires. In the past week, more than 260 fires have been extinguished, according to the BCWS. Some areas have also rescinded their evacuation orders and alerts.
However, there are still more than 420 fires actively burning in B.C. They include five blazes "of note," which are classified as "wildfires that are highly visible or pose a potential threat to public safety."
About 1,400 people are currently under an evacuation order in the province, according to a Thursday afternoon social media post by B.C. Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma.
Crews have been battling a spike in wildfires since the weekend, when dry weather and a heat wave were followed by tens of thousands of lightning strikes that triggered numerous fires.
Evacuation orders in the Kootenay
On Thursday afternoon, the Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK) placed the Whiteswan Lake area under an evacuation order due to the Mt. Morro wildfire, which is about 114 square kilometres. The district says the order covers four properties as well as Home Basin Campground and Inlet Creek Campground.
Around the same time, the RDEK also issued an evacuation order for nine properties in the Palliser and Cross River Area due to the Raven's Head wildfire. This affects the Nipika Mountain Resort and the Cross River Canyon Recreation Site.
In the Central Kootenay, Glacier Creek Regional Park was temporarily closed Thursday at noon due to wildfires in the Duncan Reservoir area.
In West Kootenay, residents of Silverton were ordered to leave the village of about 200 people in response to the advancing Aylwin Creek fire Wednesday night.
The Town of Golden in southeastern B.C. also issued an evacuation order late Wednesday for various areas threatened by a 1.33-square-kilometre blaze to the south.
By Thursday afternoon, the town had downgraded the evacuation order for some properties on the east side of Highway 95 to an alert, alongside a long list of other properties. The order remains for certain properties on the west side of the highway.
Ron Oszust, mayor of Golden, also said Thursday that six homes have been lost near the town.
The town's website said earlier in the day that authorities are focused on "saving as many structures as possible" from the Dogtooth Forest Service Road fire that has prompted orders for several properties either side of the Columbia River and Highway 95 to leave.
The town says the Dogtooth blaze remains active, but the weather was working in favour of firefighters.
Highway 95 was closed between Golden and Radium Hot Springs to the south, but the town says it reopened Thursday afternoon. Access will still be restricted in areas under the evacuation order, it said.
Environment Canada is forecasting highs in the low or mid-20s in parts of the Interior, including Kamloops, Kelowna and Lytton, where temperatures breached 40 C just days ago.
Temperatures in the northern Interior, including Prince George and Williams Lake, are forecast to remain in the mid-teens.
Some areas rescind evacuation orders, alerts
Wells residents can now return home, the district said Thursday evening in a Facebook post after rescinding the days-long evacuation order. It added that the community will still be on an alert in response to the Antler Creek wildfire.
Bowron Lake and the historic town of Barkerville, however, remain evacuated.
Around 2,000 residents of Ashcroft are also now without an evacuation alert for the first time in six days, after it was rescinded Thursday afternoon. But an alert could be issued again if necessary, according to the Thompson-Nicola Regional District (TNRD).
The village was facing threats from the 225-square-kilometre Shetland Creek blaze, one of the most severe wildfires in B.C. The fire near Spences Bridge, around 180 kilometres northeast of Vancouver, has destroyed about 20 structures including at least six homes in the Venables Valley, according to the TNRD.
Also on Thursday afternoon, the Cariboo Regional District rescinded the evacuation order for the Kuyakuz Lake Area, after issuing it on July 21.
Fires burn across B.C.
On southern Vancouver Island, the Old Man Lake wildfire is burning out of control about nine kilometres north of Sooke.
A BCWS update says that fire, at just under one square kilometre in size, has seen some growth but the spread has been "away from any structures or critical infrastructure," according to Julia Caranci with the Coastal Fire Centre.
"We have not recommended any evacuation alerts or orders associated with this incident currently," Caranci said in an update posted on YouTube.
According to the Capital Regional District, the wildfire is burning a few kilometres south of the Sooke Lake Reservoir, which is part of the water supply area for about 350,000 people in Greater Victoria.
The district has enacted a number of recreational closures due to the wildfire, including closing Sooke Potholes Regional Park, the Spring Salmon Place Campground and access to Kapoor Regional Park.