Evacuation orders, alert issued due to wildfire in southeast B.C.

The Regional District of East Kootenay ordered a "tactical evacuation" in a small community in southeastern B.C. due to a nearby wildfire on Monday.

In a Facebook post around 3:30 p.m., the RDEK says that emergency responders were carrying out the tactical evacuation due to a wildfire in the area.

The tactical evacuations were taking place in the area of Saunders Road and Palmer Road in Baynes Lake, an unincorporated community on the shore of Koocanusa Lake.

Loree Duczek, the regional information officer for the East Kootenay Emergency Management Program, said in an interview that there were 14 properties on evacuation order as of 8 p.m. PT, and 38 properties on evacuation alert.

The Kikomun wildfire covered an area of 0.05 square kilometres as of Monday night.

"We've just got really hot dry conditions down in the south country, in the area that this fire broke out," Duczek told CBC News on Monday. "With the winds that we had today and just the dry conditions, it definitely got legs and really started to grow quickly." 

The B.C. Wildfire Service says the blaze  was likely caused by human activity on Monday afternoon — a broad category of fires that refers to any fires not caused by lightning.

A Facebook post from the nearby Baynes Lake Community Hall said the hall would be open for anyone who was evacuated due to the fire.

Under an evacuation order, residents should leave immediately. An evacuation alert means residents should prepare to evacuate their homes with little to no notice.

A tactical evacuation, on the other hand, means officials go to people's homes in person and let them know they must leave before an official order is released, Duczek said.

"I know that for those people who were tactically evacuated, it would have been a really unsettling, really scary time for them," Duczek said. "From all of the reports in the field, people were really helpful, really co-operative, and I want to thank them for their patience.

"Just to rest assured that the team is doing everything they can to get them home safely."

A wildfire information officer said that one response officer, a unit crew and air support were on-site Monday to respond to the blaze, along with personnel from the Baynes Lake Fire Department.

While wildfire information officers initially indicated that it was displaying Rank 3 fire behaviour — described as a moderately vigorous surface fire — Duczek told CBC News later Monday night that it was displaying Rank 1 fire behaviour, which is a smouldering ground fire.

Baynes Lake is an unincorporated area located in Electoral Area B in the Regional District of East Kootenay. The 2021 census showed the community, along with other nearby areas, had a population of around 600 people.

Duczek said that the area features a mix of residents who stay there year-round and those who own vacation properties in the area.

She said that, while the exact cause of the fire would be determined after the initial suppression efforts, she wants to remind residents to be safe around campfires heading into fall.

"Even though we're going into fall, it is still just as important to make sure that we are staying aware, that we're staying prepared," she said.