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The B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) warns an approaching cold front could spark new wildfires and cause existing fires to spread rapidly because of strong winds and possible lightning.
“The existing fires on the landscape this weekend are going to experience more challenging conditions,” said Aydan Coray, a fire information officer at the Provincial Wildfire Coordination Centre.
“Any new fire starts that come from incoming convective activity such as lightning starts will likely spread quite quickly and have rapid rates of growth.”
As of 1 p.m. local time on Saturday, there were 35 active evacuation orders and 31 alerts across the province, affecting 2,900 and 2,800 properties respectively, according to the Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness.
New evacuation orders issued
The Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD) issued an evacuation order effective at 9 a.m. PT Saturday, due to the Brunswick Creek Complex and the Ainslie Creek wildfire.
“The previously issued evacuation alert for the Alexandra Lodge to the Alexandra Bridge area has been upgraded to an evacuation order,” said the FVRD in a news release.
In an email to CBC News, FVRD said there are active evacuation orders across the district affecting 495 properties. It said 279 properties are currently on evacuation alert in the area from Sawmill Creek to Dogwood Valley.
The district says anyone in areas under an evacuation order must leave immediately.
The Spuzzum First Nation says on its social media page that all Spuzzum First Nation reserve lands are also under an evacuation order as of Saturday morning.
Residents are being told to go south on Highway 1 toward Hope.
Just after 11 a.m. Saturday, the Regional District North Okanagan (RDNO) issued an evacuation alert for 22 properties on Six Mile Creek Road due to a wildfire in the area.
The Okanagan Indian Band issued an evacuation order at 3:44 p.m. on Saturday for all properties north of Marys Emerald Bay Road to Simla Road, due to the Bradley Creek Wildfire. Emergency services are conducting a tactical evacuation for residents on Pebble Park Lane.
The band’s registered population is over 2,600.
MLA calls for state of emergency
In a post to Facebook Friday night, Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA Lorne Doerkson said a “very serious situation continues to develop in the South Cariboo.”
“We need help and we need it right now.”
He said residents have been calling for the provincial government to declare a state of emergency, and he is “joining them in that plea.”
“There are hundreds of people fighting these fires right now, but the fires continue to advance in massive ways,” he explained.
Doerkson noted the rate at which the Pear Lake wildfire is growing, from under 750 square kilometres to 905 square kilometres — its listed size Saturday morning — in a single day.
As of 10 a.m. PT, there were more than 100 active wildfires in B.C., including 46 classified as out of control, 44 under control and 18 being held.
The BCWS dashboard also showed 16 fires declared out and three new fires discovered during the same reporting period.
Coray said lightning starts aren’t uncommon during this time of year, but what’s more unusual is it being paired with high winds and “the intensity that this weather front is going to bring.”
“The Cariboo Kamloops and Southeast Fire Centre in particular, are expected to have that increased activity this weekend.”
Forests Minister Ravi Parmar told CBC News that crews are doing everything they can to protect homes.
“What we are seeing from the Pear Lake fire is extreme fire behaviour,” he said.
“I have a duty as does the B.C. Wildfire Service leadership to ensure we are not putting our wildland firefighters, our aerial equipment at risk, their safety and the safety of residents is our utmost priority.”
