Wildfire south of Lytton, B.C., leads to Highway 1 closure
CBC News | Posted: August 20, 2023 3:50 AM | Last Updated: August 20, 2023
Kookipi Creek blaze grew from 88 sq. km Friday to 105 sq. km Saturday
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Hundreds of properties in the Fraser Canyon and Thompson-Nicola regions remain on evacuation order and alert as the Kookipi Creek wildfire continues to grow.
As of Saturday morning, the Kookipi Creek fire was estimated to be 105 square kilometres in size, growing from 88 square kilometres on Friday south of Lytton, B.C.
The fire has not seen significant growth over the course of Saturday, said Kimberly Kelly, an information officer with the B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS).
Highway 1 has been closed between Lytton and Hope since the fire crossed the highway on Thursday. The next update on the highway's status will be provided Sunday morning.
Evacuation alerts and orders have been issued from the Fraser Valley Regional District, Thompson-Nicola Regional District, Lytton First Nation, Skuppah Indian Band and Kanaka Bar Indian Band.
The village of Lytton, which was all but destroyed in a fire in 2021, is also under an evacuation alert.
Evacuees from the Fraser Valley Regional District, the Boothroyd Indian Band and Boston Bar First Nation can go to Camp Hope for assistance.
WATCH | Video appears to show Nahatlatch Lookout Tower burning:
The Nahatlatch Lookout Tower, located about 30 kilometres south of Lytton, was destroyed by the wildfire just after 5 p.m. Friday, said Matt Ion of the Four Wheel Drive Association of B.C., the organization that manages the tower.
"I don't expect there's anything else left other than a few metal bits," Ion wrote in an email to CBC News.
Kelly, of BCWS, said she could not confirm if the tower had burned down, as firefighters had yet to assess the area due to the fire conditions.
She added, however, that the tower was located within the blaze's perimeter on Saturday evening.
From a plume of smoke to a "complete inferno"
Shoneena Loss and her two sons evacuated their home in a remote area north of Boston Bar on Thursday.
She said the Kookipi fire, which has been burning for over a month, went from a plume of smoke to a "complete inferno" within hours.
"I've never felt the winds and the trees moving the way that it was," Loss said.
Cliff Chapman, operations director with the BCWS, said in a Friday morning briefing that flames were driven by high winds and rose up to 150 metres high.
He said the magnitude of the fire led some to mistake its huge smoke cloud for a volcanic eruption.
Loss and her sons are staying in Camp Hope, a group retreat facility in Hope, B.C., that is one of many hospitality businesses opening their doors to evacuees.
Marcon Maciel, the camp's lodge manager, said about 40 to 50 people are staying there and that the facility is prepared to accommodate up to 200.
"We are very happy to have these people here," he said.
Maciel said they have a fully stocked industrial kitchen and are providing three meals a day to their guests.
More on the B.C. wildfires:
Tune in for ongoing coverage of the wildfire situation on CBC Radio One, 101.7 in Hope, 93.1 FM in Lytton, or by using the CBC Listen app. You can also watch free livestreams on CBC News Network and CBC Gem.