b.c. wildfires: firefighters say obey evacuation orders with hot and windy weather forecast
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b.c. firefighters are bracing for more hot and dry weather, with wind gusts that could fan the flames in areas like b.c.’s drought-stricken cariboo region scorched by wildfire.
the more than 732-square-kilometre pear lake wildfire — b.c.’s largest blaze — continues to burn out-of-control north of clinton and has led to three evacuation alerts and eight evacuation orders affecting thousands of residents, including the entire village of clinton. officials have confirmed that some houses have been destroyed but have not disclosed how many.
fire officials said friday that the weather continues to be hot, with temperatures around 27 c and expected wind gusts of up to 35 kilometres per hour. they said the fire is expected to spread on friday afternoon but there could be some reprieve with cooler weather on saturday.
overall, firefighters are battling 129 wildfires in the province, including 50 out-of-control blazes and four wildfires of note.
as more extreme fire behaviour is expected in the coming days, the b.c. wildfire service is also warning residents to heed evacuation orders after first responders had to extract someone from an evacuation order area who refused to leave, even becoming belligerent with firefighters.
receiving an evacuation order can be “an unsettling and emotional experience” and some may be reluctant to leave, the service said in an update wednesday night.
but choosing to remain puts “yourself, your family and first responders in danger. it’s not worth the risk,” the service added.
b.c. wildfire service incident commander bryce moreira said when fire crews asked the person to leave he became difficult.
“i won’t repeat exactly what he said but it was not in a nice way, and quite explicit,” he said.
the crews left and continued their work but were called back to the man’s property because fire was surrounding it and it was unsafe.
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“fortunately our crews were able to get that person to safety. all our crews are safe and so is that person as well.”
for clinton resident ray bennett, his wife and five children — age 17, 11, 10, eight, and four — there was no question about leaving when the evacuation order came down. he knew they needed to get to safety.
“as we were leaving the area, we could see embers and flames coming down the hillside. it was a terrifying experience, and from that moment on, everything became a scramble,” he said.
once the family arrived in kamloops, they had to wait for emergency support services to verify them to receive assistance.
“we spent about five or six hours waiting before i finally called the emergency response line myself to try to get our file processed. thankfully, it was approved, but it was an incredibly stressful wait when all we wanted was somewhere safe for our family.”
finding accommodation was another challenge. they needed a hotel that was affordable, accepted ess payments, and allowed pets.
when they finally found a hotel it cost $1,700, the same amount as the ess payment, which left nothing left over.
“we’re now trying to figure out what comes next. our plan was to buy an inexpensive rv or tent trailer from a friend so we could camp and reduce our expenses, but with the new logan lake fires affecting the area where we planned to stay, those plans have fallen through too. we’re back to square one, and we simply can’t afford to keep paying hotel costs while we wait to find out when we’ll be able to return home.”
the guichon creek wildfire near logan lake, north of merritt, quickly grew late thursday to nearly one square kilometre and prompted an evacuation alert by the thompson nicola regional district, and partial highway closures. fire officials believe it was ignited wednesday by people.
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bennett said he doesn’t think the house has been destroyed so they hope they can go home soon.
the b.c. wildfire service said the first phase of a planned ignition operation north of clinton was completed wednesday and firefighters will complete the remaining sections thursday if conditions are favourable.
clinton mayor roland stanke expressed some concern about the planned ignition aimed at managing the rapidly spreading fire.
“personally, i have never been a fan of backburns, yet i’ve witnessed controlled burns that did the job it was intended to do,” he said, noting that with all the wildfires creating unpredictable weather patterns it seems like “an extremely dicey option to look at.”
he said his understanding is that firefighters will only proceed if all the conditions are in favour, and the odds of all the conditions being perfect are slim.
the service said warm, dry and windy conditions remain challenging for firefighting, and that new wildfire starts and increased fire behaviour remain possible in the days ahead.
fire crews from mexico will arrive in b.c. on monday and thursday to help battle the wildfires through a partnership with the canadian interagency forest fire centre.
in an update wednesday afternoon, barbara roden, chair of the thompson-nicola regional district and mayor of ashcroft said her heart goes out to residents in clinton and surrounding areas.
“for a lot of people this is going to be one of the most traumatizing events that you live through,” she said.
“no matter what your experience of that wildfire is, whether you are someone who is finding out or is about to find out you have lost property, whether you are on evacuation order away from your home, whether you are on alert evacuation. it is a frightening, traumatic experience,” she said, adding that it’s a strength to reach out and ask for help.
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she also urged residents to seek out reliable information and to be careful because there is so much misinformation and fake ai photos online.
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