Evacuation area grows around B.C.'s Slocan Lake due to wildfires

The Regional District of Central Kootenay (RDCK) has expanded its evacuation order for the B.C. village of Slocan to include six properties and the Evans Creek Campground in the west side of Slocan Lake.

The latest upgrade follows the regional district's announcement late Saturday asking residents and visitors in Slocan, a community of about 380 people in southeastern B.C., to evacuate by 8 a.m. PT Sunday.

The B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) said it's expecting an increase in activity on the Ponderosa wildfire, now mapped at 6.7 square kilometres, and the Mulvey Creek wildfire at about 11 square kilometres, burning on the either side of the village.

According to the Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness, 1,800 people and 1,200 properties are under evacuation orders across B.C. 

Slocan Mayor Jessica Lunn said the skies were filled with ominous black smoke while she drove out of her community.

Lunn said most village residents had already left Sunday morning.

"I did a drive through the community, through the village, looking, and most people had left by that point," she said.

"And it just seemed there was that quiet ominous feeling of just thick, thick smoke."

Lunn said being able to give people notice ahead of time was a silver lining and helped officials organize a bus for those who couldn't leave to take them to an evacuation centre in Castlegar, nearly 70 kilometres south of Slocan.

"That did give the community some time to prepare, even though most families and individuals already had a plan in place, because we had been on [evacuation] alert," she said.

But some locals still haven't evacuated yet, said Dan Seguin, the regional district's emergency operations centre director. 

"I don't have numbers of how many people have chosen to stay behind. It happens with every evacuation order at this point," Seguin told CBC News. 

"It's an unsafe area [and] there's a reason why BCWS recommended the area be on evacuation order and we just urge people to leave the area when they are notified."

Evacuees are directed to head south to the Emergency Support Services (ESS) reception centre at Selkirk College near Castlegar. 

Rick Owen, a longtime Slocan Valley resident, was one among many people at the centre waiting to register to access accommodation and other supports.

"You can feel for those people in Fort McMurray," he told CBC News, referring to the devastating wildfire in 2016 that forced nearly 90,000 to flee in the northeastern Alberta community.

"Some people say: 'Well, why me?' I know the answer to that. Why not you? Who are you?" he added.

Owens, who lives near the village of Silverton, about 28 kilometres north of Slocan, has already been forced to evacuate twice this summer. 

Last week, the regional district ordered evacuations for properties south of the village of Silverton due to the Aylwin Creek wildfire.

"It wears on you," said Owens, who had moved to a friend's house in Slocan after leaving his residence, only to relocate again less than 10 days later.

He said he will now be staying with some friends in Castlegar.

According to Seguin, it's too soon to estimate when people might be able to return home. 

"I wish I had a crystal ball and I could say when they could go home. And I wish I could say that it was going to be soon," he said.

The latest evacuation orders are among a series in place in the regional district, encompassing a total of 1,026 properties. 

According to BCWS, 128 firefighters were responding Sunday to the 10 wildfires within the Slocan lake Complex alone, which includes the Ponderosa and Mulvey Creek wildfires, and Aylwin Creek wildfire. 

Lunn said the situation feels surreal, and she hopes winds stay calm and rain arrives.

"No matter which way the wind is blowing, it's affecting somebody. So what we need is that rain, the water and calm — no winds."

The evacuations came as cool and wet weather helped fight fires in other parts of the province.

A provincewide situation update posted Sunday by the BCWS said risk levels have decreased in other parts of B.C., reducing fire behaviour on some of other major blazes.

According to the Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness, 1,800 people and 1,200 properties are under evacuation order across B.C.