More homes in B.C.’s Southern Interior were placed under an evacuation order Sunday, as crews continued to fight more than 170 wildfires around the province.
The Thompson-Nicola Regional District said the new order, related to the Sparks Lake fire, applies to a handful of additional properties in Electoral Area “J” (Copper Desert Country).
The fire, among the largest in the province, has grown again to 36,300 hectares, and the BC Wildfire Service said it had begun to move onto the northeast edge of the Skeetchestn Band’s Reserve lands.
The TNRD had already issued evacuation orders for about 163 properties, while the Skeetchestn Band has evacuated reserves IR0 and IR1.
North of Lillooet, residents in the Pavilion and West Pavilion areas were also ordered to evacuate their homes, just hours after a previous evacuation order was downgraded to an evacuation alert.
Those evacuations were in relation to the 23,699-hectare McKay Creek Fire.
Of the fires burning in B.C. Sunday, 125 were the result of lightning strikes, and 26 had started within the last 48 hours.
Crews were battling 13 “fires of note”— blazes that are highly visible or pose a possible threat to lives or property.
Fire information officer Jean Strong said some of the fires in the Prince George fire centre were so extreme crews couldn’t get close enough to fight them.
She said the wildfire service had also called for extra resources, including firefighters from Ontario and New Brunswick.
“Help hasn’t arrived yet, however we are expecting 93 personnel through the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre,” she said.
“We also are expecting Canadian military assistance.”
Provincial officials are scheduled to hold a wildfire update via teleconference at 2 p.m. PT, Sunday.
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