B.C. Wildfire Service warns of out-of-control fires, evacuation orders issued

The B.C. Wildfire Service is warning of several out-of-control wildfires, several of which have prompted evacuation orders.

People were forced to evacuate their camping spots in Manning Provincial Park and south of Highway 3 to the border.

In a statement by BC Parks, they say the Heather Lake fire has resulted in several trails and facilities being closed down, including Monument 78 and 83 trails and more.

“Wildfire crews are actively monitoring and may be working in the area. In the event of changing wildfire conditions, visitors in this park may receive limited notice to evacuate,” said a BC Parks statement.

Photo credit: BC Parks

The Heather Lake wildfire is now an estimated 400 hectares in size, located along the Canada-U.S. border.

“The fire is exhibiting aggressive fire behaviour and is highly visible from Highway 3,” said a BC Wildfire Service statement. “The BC Wildfire Service is working collaboratively with the US Forest Service and BC Parks to manage this incident.”

The Wildfire Service adds that as of now, the fire is classified as “out of control.”

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• B.C. sees some of lowest human-caused wildfires since 1950, dry fall still a concern

• Unauthorized drones shut down Keremeos wildfire fighting efforts

• Air quality advisories issued for parts of B.C.’s southern Interior

The Lillooet area is also under an evacuation order along Highway 99 near the Downton Creek area.

The Squamish-Lillooet Regional District issued an order Saturday afternoon for properties within Electoral Area B due to the wildfire, which is burning about 18 kilometres south of Lillooet.

The following locations are part of the order:

• District Lot 2343, Lillooet District
• District Lot 4361, Lillooet District
• District Lot 4361- Lot A, Lillooet District
• Lot 1 and Lot 2 in District Lot 4360, Lillooet District
• Cottonwood Recreation Site EC1576
• Cinnamon Recreation Site REC1874
• Gott Recreation Site REC1872
• Rogers Recreation Site REC1568
• Seton Ridge Recreation Trail REC4684

#Evacuation Order & Alert issued by Squamish-Lillooet Regional District for the Downtown Creek area due to wildfire. More info on impacted properties & map: https://t.co/ir4oFinvOp @slrd_bc #BCWildfire

— Emergency Info BC (@EmergencyInfoBC) September 3, 2022

Further north — the Battleship Mountain wildfire burning close to the community of Hudson’s Hope has forced an evacuation order after growing to nearly 105 kilometres in size.

The Peace River Regional District issued an evacuation order for the Battleship Mountain and Carbon Lake area out of concern over the growing Battleship Mountain wildfire.

The following locations are included in the order:

• North shore of Williston Lake
• Table Creek south to Dowling Creek (8km west of the WAC Bennett Dam, 40km Johnson FSR)
• Southwest following Dowling Creek to the intersection of McAllister Creek
• West to approximately 10km West of Peck Creek
• North to Williston Lake

“In the last 24 hours, the wildfire has grown from 4500ha to 8000ha. The BC Wildfire Service has recommended this Order due to the current and expected fire growth over the next 72hrs,” said a district statement.

Up to 75 per cent of fires in the province, this year have been caused by lightning.

Updates to B.C. wildfires can be found on the Wildfire Service dashboard.

With files from the Canadian Press