Increasing wildfires prompt dozens of evacuation orders, alerts across B.C.

The number of wildfires in British Columbia continues to rise amid persistent drought, and federal aid — including military resources — is on the way.

Maps from the B.C. Wildfire Service and Emergency Management B.C. show nearly 70 wildfire-related evacuation alerts and orders as of Saturday morning.

While wildfire activity was largely concentrated in northeastern B.C. earlier this season, most blazes of note are now clustered in the Bulkley-Nechako and Cariboo regions of the central Interior, between Prince George and Terrace.

B.C.'s drought bulletin also shows nearly the whole province is experiencing drought conditions of at least Level 3 of five, with the Fort Nelson basin in the northeast, the Bulkley basin and all of Vancouver Island classified at the most severe level.

Bowinn Ma, B.C.'s minister of emergency management and climate readiness, says federal personnel will work alongside about 2,000 crew members with the B.C. Wildfire Service as they fight nearly 380 blazes burning throughout the province.

Canada's minister of emergency preparedness, Bill Blair, announced the assistance on Friday after Ma made the request on Thursday.

20 wildfires of note

The number of highly visible, threatening or potentially damaging "wildfires of note" has ticked up to 20 from 17 on Friday.

A wildfire in the Lower Mainland north of Mission is now burning out of control, according to BCWS.

The 150-hectare Davis Lake wildfire was discovered on July 5 but is no longer being held by suppression efforts. 

Meanwhile, a 1.5-hectare fire near Pitt Lake in Pitt Meadows is now considered under control, the service said.

Both blazes have been highly visible to Lower Mainland residents in the past days.

On Friday afternoon, B.C.'s Transportation Ministry urged drivers not to stop on highways or roads to look at wildfires, which can be "a visual distraction" and impair visibility, it said in a Tweet.

An update from the BCWS posted Thursday shows fires have scorched nearly 12,300 square kilometres of forested lands so far this season, eclipsing the 10-year average of about 760 for the same time of year.

A wildfire burning about 50 kilometres north of Bella Coola prompted an evacuation order Friday that covers several recreational properties along a 20-kilometre stretch of the Dean River as it runs through the Central Coast Regional District.

Curtis Slingerland, the chief administrative officer for the district, says the fire is burning in a remote area and the district is in close contact with the wildfire service.

The Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako issued two evacuation orders Saturday covering properties on the northeast shore of Elwin Lake, east of Houston, as well as properties west of Wisteria Mainline Road near Horseshoe and Fish Lakes.

The Cariboo Regional District meanwhile upgraded an evacuation alert to an order Friday afternoon. The order covers 135 parcels of land across nearly 3,340 square kilometres in the Lhoosk'uz area, west of Quesnel.

Later on Saturday, a new evacuation order was issued by the district for 38 parcels in the Anahim Peak area, along with an evacuation order from the Ulkatcho First Nation for an area near Moose Lake in the Mount Robson Provincial Park.

A special air quality statement from Environment Canada warns of smoky skies spanning much of eastern B.C. from the Yukon boundary to the Kootenays.