Little reprieve for firefighters in B.C. as wildfire threat moves south

Hundreds of wildfires continue to burn in B.C, with some of the most concerning blazes now in the southern half of the province, as more international resources pour in to help with the fight. 

The province is in the midst of a wildfire season that is already the worst on record when it comes to area burned, with 14,800 square kilometres charred as of 11 a.m. Sunday.

The B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) says some rain is expected to help firefighters in northern B.C., where most of B.C.'s fires of note — those that pose a threat to public safety or are publicly visible — are burning.

However, two fires of note are burning close to communities in the Interior. One of them, the Ross Moore Lake fire south of Kamloops, B.C., more than doubled in size overnight — going from seven square kilometres to 18 square kilometres.

On Sunday evening, an evacuation order issued by the Thompson-Nicola Regional District (TNRD) Saturday was expanded from 49 properties to 344. Another 157 properties are on an evacuation alert due to the fire.

"We've had pretty hot and dry conditions for weeks now, so in some ways it was inevitable that we'd get here but obviously this activity is far too close for comfort," said Kevin Skrepnek, a former wildfire fighter, and now an emergency official with the TNRD.

Melanie Bibeau, a fire information officer with the BCWS, says the Ross Moore Lake fire is highly visible from Highway 5 and Highway 5A.

"Currently, our crews are working today in the southeast corner, putting a lot of focus in that area," she told CBC News on Sunday morning. "We are expecting to have aerial resources overhead today as well. People within the Kamloops area might see some helicopters or potentially air tankers going over that fire today."

Kamloops is a city of around 90,000 people located in the central Interior, around 350 km northeast of Vancouver. The properties on evacuation order or alert due to the Ross Moore Lake fire are in a rural area south of Kamloops.

Mike McCulley, another fire information officer, said that dry lightning and thunderstorm conditions are expected to move toward the Okanagan and other portions of southern B.C., some of which are under a heat warning — including the North Thompson, Boundary and Kootenay Lake areas.

"In the last week, we've had over 61,000 [lightning] strikes across the entire province," he said. "Not only is it hot and difficult conditions, but these windy conditions increase fire behaviour." 

McCulley said that most of the fires now burning in the province have been caused by lightning, compared to earlier in the season where human activity caused most of the blazes.

"We do need the public to remain extremely diligent. We need them to pay very close attention," he said. "Any fire that's human caused takes away resources ... that we could use to help fight lightning-caused fires."

As of Saturday afternoon, 250 people had been ordered to leave their homes across B.C. due to fires, and 3,347 people were told to get ready to leave at a moment's notice.

Almost 600 international firefighters helping

McCulley said there are just under 600 international firefighters helping with operations in the province, many of which are in the province's north. Firefighters have arrived from Mexico, Brazil, Australia and the U.S.

B.C. Emergencies Minister Bowinn Ma welcomed the Brazilian firefighters to the province at a news conference in Abbotsford on Sunday.

WATCH | Wildfire near Kamloops, B.C., is growing: 

500 fires burn across B.C.

1 year ago

Duration 2:01

As British Columbia faces its worst wildfire season on record, with roughly 500 fires burning and dozens of communities under evacuation alerts, 600 international firefighters have answered the call to help.

In response to a question from CBC News, Ma said that B.C. wasn't yet looking to declare a provincial state of emergency, as existing legislation is proving sufficient to provide firefighting resources.

"Our challenge right now in this wildfire season is fighting wildfires," she said. "Right now, we have the tools available to us legislatively in order to do that."

Fire continues to burn northeast of Cranbrook

Just northeast of Cranbrook, in B.C.'s southeast, more than 660 properties are on evacuation alert and 51 homes have been ordered to evacuate due to the St. Mary's River wildfire.

That fire has already burned seven homes, according to ʔaq'am First Nation, and has Cranbrook's airport on evacuation alert.

On Sunday, the ʔaq'am First Nation said people from 16 properties in the community who were forced to flee on Monday, would be able to return home. The 16 properties would remain on evacuation alert.

"While this is an exciting time for all those who can return home, we know it comes with mixed emotions as friends and neighbours have lost homes and others remain on evacuation order and are not able to go home yet," said ʔaq̓am Nasuʔkin (Chief) Joe Pierre in a release.

Kim Wright, a fire information officer, said that high winds and dry conditions could lead to the fire spreading on Sunday. She added that residents should respect active work sites and not approach firefighters.

"Yesterday, we had an incident where there was enough people where there was a potential to block the only egress route in and out," she told CBC News. "That does eventually become a safety issue for both the public and our responders."

An evacuation order also covers 192 properties close to the Casper Creek wildfire in the Squamish-Lillooet region north of Vancouver.

Highway 20 on the Central Coast, near Bella Coola, remains closed due to the Young Creek wildfire. The blaze currently covers an area of 33.6 square kilometres.

DriveBC says piloted convoys, two each going westbound and eastbound, will lead commercial vehicles through the route each day.