Evacuations ordered as B.C. wildfires grow

The latest: 

• More than 230 fires are burning in B.C. with officials warning of a “challenging 72 hours” ahead.
• Heat warnings remain in place for much of the province’s Interior and north, with temperatures above 30 C.
• An evacuation order is in place for the Venables Valley, an agricultural region west of Kamloops, affecting more than 100 people. 
• Evacuations orders and alerts have also been issued for some properties along Slocan Lake in the Central Kootenay region and an emergency operations centre has been activated in the Shuswap.
• Find more information about evacuation orders and wildfires in your region.

B.C. fire officials are gearing up for what they warn could be a “very challenging 72 hours,” with lightning in the forecast and damage already in the B.C. Interior that one witness described as “Armageddon.”

The Thompson-Nicola Regional District (TNRD) issued an evacuation order Wednesday evening, impacting about 76 properties in the Venables Valley, an agricultural area about 70 kilometres west of Kamloops.

The TNRD says about 120 people are affected, with more living on neighbouring Cooks Ferry Indian Band land. 

Stephen Sherwood, the band’s fire chief, said in an interview with CBC’s Radio West that the fire overcame the band’s land used for cattle grazing and one of the Indigenous protected cultural grounds in the area. He also said the band lost a structure, however, he said it has not been inhabited for some time.

Elsewhere, the Shuswap Emergency Program says it has activated an emergency operations centre in response to multiple new fire starts in the region, though it says no properties are currently at risk.

Meanwhile, in the Central Kootenay Regional District, 11 properties have been ordered evacuated with another 91 on evacuation alert on the east side of Slocan Lake due to the Aylwin Creek wildfire. 

Dan Seguin, emergency management coordinator for Regional District of Central Kootenay, told CBC News that there has been a reception centre established for evacuees at the Royal Canadian Legion in the village of Slocan. 

He also said the Bannock Point Recreation site is now included in the evacuation order, and urged visitors and other residents in the district to “use their best judgment,” pay attention to alerts and steer clear of firefighting areas. 

“I encourage individuals to have a look and make sure they’re being as safe as possible at a time that conditions can change really quite rapidly,” Seguin said. 

In the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen, an evacuation alert has been issued for the Eastgate, Psayten and Placer areas along B.C. Highway 3 due to the Calcite Creek fire.

The 0.25 square kilometre blaze is “exhibiting aggressive fire behaviour and growth,” according to the B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS). It says the fire was discovered Thursday and suspected to have been caused by lightning. 

Dozens of new fires

Overall, nearly 240 wildfires are active across the province as of Thursday evening, dozens of which started in the last 24 hours. Nearly half are considered out of control.

Lightning is the primary source of new fires, according to Cliff Chapman, director of wildfire operations with the BCWS.

He said the northern half of B.C. is expected to get “significant lightning” Thursday, potentially followed by lightning across the province Friday.

“I do believe that we are on the precipice of a very challenging 72 hours,” Chapman said.

Heat warnings also remain in effect across the province’s Interior and north. Temperatures will be above 30 C during the day and in the mid-to high teens overnight, further fuelling the dry conditions.

Flames ‘hundreds of feet tall’

On July 17, the Teit Creek wildfire merged into the Shetland Creek wildfire, both of which had prompted previous evacuation orders, the B.C. Wildfire Service said Thursday in an update.

The incident is now being referred to as the Shetland Creek wildfire which, as of Thursday morning, was burning at 50 square kilometres with an origin point 7.5 kilometres north of Spences Bridge.

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Mark Greenberg was one of more than 100 residents of Venables Valley, in the B.C. Interior, who had to watch as a wildfire burned toward his property.

The service said the fire has been growing “aggressively” and advancing to the northeast, and it is now classified as a wildfire of note.

“The flames were hundreds of feet tall,” said Venables Valley resident Mark Greenberg, who is part of a community-based fire team.

Greenberg says a FireSmart meeting was underway at the community hall Wednesday night when he saw huge flames coming over the mountain toward the hall.

“I probably left the valley just around midnight, but within an hour the [valley] was just Armageddon,” he said.

The properties in the area are primarily agricultural and farmland, with about 120 residents the regional district said.

Also affected is Saranagati Village, a Hare Krishna community of about 30 families that also includes a school and temple.

The Cook’s Ferry Indian Band, north of Spences Bridge, also issued an updated evacuation order Wednesday for several reserves due to the fires according to officials. 

Chapman said increasing winds accelerated fire growth amid unseasonably warm temperatures. 

He also said an incident management team of about 55 people are heading to the area near Venables Valley to assist with fire suppression efforts and structure protection.

“We’re going to see temperatures in the mid-30s, even cresting into 40 C in the southern Interior over the next few days,” he said.

The fires were discovered last Friday and Saturday, and the service says lightning is the suspected cause of both blazes.

“This wildfire has proven to be extremely volatile and everyone in the area should leave immediately if they have not already,” Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness Bowinn Ma said at a news conference Thursday.

The band first issued an order Tuesday, which applied to Reserve 6 due to imminent danger from the fires.

A new order, which came into effect at 8 p.m. PT Wednesday, covers Reserves 5, 6, 8A, 19 Firstly and 22.

Cook’s Ferry Chief Christine Walkem said on social media that several families have been impacted by the fire, though the extent of the damage was unclear at the time.

“Our thoughts and prayers for the loss of our Murray Creek, Twaal Valley, Venables Valley and the loss to come,” she wrote.