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Towns, homes evacuated in B.C. as wildfires burn out of control
Lightning, dry weather and wind throughout the region have caused fires to spread quickly
CBC,
8
July, 2017
The
province of British Columbia has declared a state of emergency, as
wildfires burn out of control throughout most of the Interior.
"The
extended weather forecast is calling for continued hot, dry weather,
with risks of thunderstorms in many parts of the province," the
province said in a written statement Friday.
The
declaration gives emergency resources special authority to deal with
the fires.
Wildfires
burning out of control across the Interior have prompted the
evacuation of at least one airport, two hospitals, an entire town and
hundreds more homes throughout the region.
The
B.C. Wildfire Service said 138 new fires started throughout the
province on Friday, many of them started by lightning.
Fire near Ashcroft
One
of the largest fires is near Ashcroft, a town in a dry
grasslands area about 120 kilometres west of Kamloops.
The Thompson-Nicola
Regional District has declared a state of local emergency because of
the fire, which quickly grew to more than 4,000 hectares
from 50 hectares over the course of the day.
A
driver passing through the Ashcroft area in the B.C. Interior tweeted
this photo showing heavy smoke billowing from a wildfire.
(@theofaber/Twitter)
The
Ashcroft Hospital has been closed as a precaution, its long-term
residents moved to Merritt.
The
flames have consumed buildings and closed highways in both
directions, including Highway 1 and Highway 97C, according to
DriveBC.
Cache
Creek Mayor John Ranta said the fire destroyed two airport
hangars and all of the 30-or-so homes at a trailer park in
Boston Flats, which is about seven kilometres south of the town.
Ranta
said the fire has also consumed three or four homes on the
Ashcroft Indian Band reserve.
Fire
information officer Kevin Skrepnek said 48 firefighters are
currently battling the blaze, along with several aircraft.
'It was definitely scary'
A
reception centre for evacuees has been set up in Kamloops at
the McArthur Island Sport Park.
The
centre's co-ordinator, Gord Davis, said some residents streaming into
the centre had to rush to leave their homes.
"Some
of them are pretty fragile because some of them have seen their
home go up in flames and others aren't really sure what they're going
to go back to," Davis said.
#BCWildfire my house is in that blaze some where. Everyone is out safe.
The
centre is helping evacuees with accommodation, clothing and meals,
but Davis said hotel rooms are in short supply because of the time of
year and events taking place over the weekend.
Thompson
Rivers University announced plans to house and support wildfire
evacuees Saturday morning. The university said it would provide group
lodging in its basement and other accommodations if needed.
Wildfires in the Cariboo
Farther
north in the province in the Cariboo Regional District, a series
of lightning strikes has sparked several wildfires in the area around
Williams Lake — one of them prompting the evacuation of the city's
airport.
@drivebc HWY97 from Cache Creek to #ashcroft barricaded closed. We turned onto HWY1 via Kamloops, thick smoke of #ashcroftfire behind us
Mike
MacKenzie was driving home to Metro Vancouver from a business trip in
Prince George when he saw dry lightning strike the area.
"I
saw three of them and then I saw the fires they created as I drove by
them," MacKenzie said. "I've never seen as many fires
all start pretty much in about a two-hour period.
The
Cariboo Regional District Emergency Operations Centre has issued
a warning, saying "fires are reported faster than they can
be written down — all over the Cariboo."
Near
100 Mile House, about 100 kilometres southeast of Williams Lake, a
1,800-hectare blaze has forced at least 3,600 people to leave their
homes.
Interior
Health said the 100 Mile District General Hospital, two residential
care sites and an assisted living facility were evacuated.
As
of 3:22 a.m. PT, the District of 100 Mile House remains under
evacuation alert.
In
a statement, Interior Health said acute care patients will be going
to Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops, while home care and assisted
living clients will be moved to facilities in Kamloops, Salmon
Arm, Merritt and possibly other communities.
Parts
of the communities of Little
Fort and Dunn
Lake were
also ordered to evacuate Friday night, due to two smaller wildfires
burning in the area.
Indigenous communities evacuated
The
Tl'etinqox First Nation and Yunesit'in First Nation, both around
100 kilometres west of Williams Lake, were both put under
evacuation order.
Chief
Joe Alphonse of the Tl'etinqox First Nation said
most of the community's 1,000 residents escaped farther west to Red
Stone.
#BCWildfire locations indicated by the red triangles.
See: http://bit.ly/s82SRz
for additional details.
"That's
about the only route we can take right now," Alphonse said.
"Every other road, logging road, is shut right down."
Wind and lightning
CBC
meteorologist Johanna Wagstaffe said a big trough of
low pressure is swinging across the province, bringing gusty
winds and lightning.
"The
problem is, we're getting a lot of lightning, and a lot of localized
erratic strong winds, but not a lot of precipitation," Wagstaffe
said.
"Fires are being reported faster than they can be written down-all over the Cariboo.." https://www.facebook.com/CRDEmergencyOperations/ …
High
winds and thunderstorms are expected to persist in the region
through the evening hours, before easing overnight.
Princeton fire
In
the southern Interior, a wildfire near Princeton has also
prompted an evacuation order for homes in the area.
The
Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen issued the order late
Friday afternoon for the properties about 10 kilometres north of
Princeton on Summers Creek Road and Dry Lake along Highway 5A.
The
district said the B.C. Wildfire Service, RCMP and Princeton Fire
Service are on scene.
An
emergency reception centre is being set up at the Riverside Community
Centre in Princeton.
A
wildfire is burning about 10 kilometres north of Princeton, B.C.
(Kathy Simpkins)
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