‘Never seen a wildfire move this fast toward Williams Lake,’ mayor says as evacuation alerts still in place
Posted July 22, 2024 9:11 am.
Last Updated July 22, 2024 6:23 pm.
Like many in the community, it was a sleepless night for Williams Lake Mayor Surinderpal Rathor after a wildfire sparked almost in the centre of the city on Sunday evening.
Rathor shared that aside from a couple of short naps, he was up all night making sure that he, the city, and his residents were safe and informed.
“The most recent update I received is that there are still a few hot spots, and a few flare-ups have come up,” he told CityNews Monday morning.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO 1130 NEWSRADIO VANCOUVER LIVE!“As you know, last night the crews were working in the dark. It’s been hard to see, but they’ve been working all night.
“There are a few bombers and helicopters are bombing the area. The evacuation alert is still in place, and we are requesting the people to preserve the water,” he explained.
The wildfire, which as of Monday morning was still classified as “out of control,” was sparked by a tree falling on a power line, the city’s emergency operation centre confirmed late Sunday.
In an update just before 10 a.m., the BCWS estimates the fire doubled in size overnight. The fire is now believed to be 40 hectares in size compared to 20 hectares Sunday night.
Within just minutes of ignition, the fire ran west up the valley hill toward businesses in the city’s industrial area. Within an hour, massive black plumes of smoke were billowing into the air as the city’s auto-wrecker and vehicles went up in flames.
Rathor says in his decades of living in the region, he’s never seen a wildfire move that fast toward the city.
“I’ve never seen one this fast and this aggressive,” he said. “It didn’t take long at all. It was minutes.”
While the winds have remained fairly calm on Monday, Rathor says crews trying to knock down the remaining hot spots as soon as possible. “With the area being so dry and so warm, we do not want to take any chances.”
Rathor explains that the westside of the valley, toward Westridge Drive, is the main area of focus Monday. “We are working on the west, concentrating on it to make sure that residents aren’t affected, if possible.”
“We are doing our best, wherever we can. The firefighters, the first responders, everybody’s there and they’re doing the best they can.”
In an update just before 10 a.m. Monday, BCWS fire information officer Jeromy Corrigan told CityNews the fire is “displaying rank one behaviour.” According to the wildfire service, rank one includes “smoldering ground fires,” while a rank four is described as being a “highly vigorous surface fire with torching or passive crown.”
“It’s much better than what crews were seeing yesterday with the rank four fire,” Corrigan said.
As for what operations look like for firefighting crews today, Corrigan said crews are going to “continue to mop up along the perimiter of the fire,” and then push further into the fire’s edge and control lines.
“Crews are essentially looking for remaining hotspots and then extinguishing them with water or soil,” he added. “Like yesterday, BC Wildfire Service crews will be both on the ground and in the air, supporting the City of Williams Lake Fire Department in their efforts.”
Rathor shared that so far, crews believe one unoccupied structure was damaged by the fire. Footage and reports shared online look to suggest it was the city’s auto wrecker business that sustained the damage.
Trains are currently on hold and cannot pass through the city, and many of the businesses along MacKenzie Avenue are closed for the time being.
“Stay calm, stay off the roads unless you have to travel somewhere for emergency reasons,” he said. “Stay strong Williams Lake, we will get through this together.”
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–With files from Catherine Garrett
