Dripping Water, Lost Valley wildfires prompt evacuation alerts in Cariboo region

Evacuation alerts have been issued for residents in the Cariboo region as two significant wildfires blaze in the region.

The BC Wildfire Service says both fires are listed as ‘out of control,’ with the Dripping Water wildfire 150 hectares in size.

The fire is southeast of Alexis Creek and was discovered on Thursday.

The first alert was issued by the Cariboo Regional District Saturday and covers the Dripping Water area.

An evacuation alert was issued for the Dripping Water area. (Courtesy Cariboo Regional District website)

“That fire is still classified as ‘out of control,’ and it is still 150 hectares,” Madison Dahl, the fire information officer with the Cariboo Fire Centre, said.

“We have 37 personnel on the ground. We do have heavy equipment and we also have air support for this fire,” she added.

The Tl’etinqox Government has also issued an evacuation alert related to the Dripping Water fire.

“Tl’etinqox IR #1 located on Highway 20, 102 km from Williams Lake. The entire area located within IR #1 is under evacuation alert,” the alert reads.

An evacuation alert was issued by the Tl’etinqox Government. (Courtesy Tl’etinqox Government)

Another alert is due to the Lost Valley wildfire, which is approximately 40 hectares in size and was discovered on Saturday.

This alert was issued by the Thompson-Nicola Regional District Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) on Saturday evening and includes the area of Northeast of Pressy Lake and south of North Bonaparte Road.

An evacuation alert was issued due to the Lost Valley wildfire and covers the area of Northeast of Pressy Lake and south of North Bonaparte Road.

“BC Wildfire personnel are on site. We did have crews working throughout the night,” Dahl said.

“Cooler temperatures overnight…did assist in helping to reduce fire behavior. [We] are working on establishing containment lines using heavy equipment [and] also have air support.”

The EOC says residents in the area should find all family members and find a meeting area outside if the evacuation order were to be issued.

“This Evacuation Alert is in place to prepare you to evacuate your premises or property, should it be found necessary. Residents will be given as much advance notice as possible prior to an Evacuation Order; however, you may receive limited notice due to changing conditions,” the EOC alert reads.

It adds to grab essentials like government-issued ID, medications, and important documents.

Dahl says the service is urging people to be careful when having any fires.
“Human-caused fires are completely preventable, and they do divert critical resources away from naturally caused fires when they do occur,” she said.

“The fire behavior is definitely dynamic. It is affected by weather conditions and we are experiencing really high temperatures and low relative humidity. We also have gusty wind conditions. All of those things will affect fire behavior. So it is the responsibility of everyone in the province to help prevent wildfires.”

With files from Mike Gazzola