Spallumcheen, BC, orders evacuation of 18 properties as lightning causes fires
SPALLUMCHEEN, BC — The township of Spallumcheen in BC’s southern interior has opened an emergency operations center after 18 properties were evacuated due to a wildfire that got out of control.
The evacuations come amid a spike in wildfire activity linked to lightning and parched conditions across much of the county’s interior.
Spallumcheen, with a population of about 5,300, says people living in the properties east of Round Lake Road should leave the area immediately.
The council says more than a dozen other properties on the west side of the road are on evacuation alert and should be prepared to leave with little notice.
The council says emergency services are on the scene and tactical support from the BC Wildfire Service is on its way.
It says that people whose property has been evacuated can go to an emergency center in Spallumcheen town hall.
The Wildfire Service reported 136 active fires in BC Friday afternoon, most concentrated in the province’s northeast.
Among them, 36 have sparked in the past day, including the Spallumcheen fire, which the wildfire service said was caused by lightning and was discovered around 2 p.m. Friday.
The agency says of the fires that raged Friday, 110 were caused by lightning, 19 by human activity and seven had unknown causes.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on July 7, 2023.
;Resize=(620))
