As predicted, windy conditions in BC’s Interior have fanned wildfires over the weekend, which led to new evacuation orders and highway closures.
The city of Armstrong issued an evacuation alert for the entire municipality; the order comes as the White Rock Lake fire burns just 20km from the town. Similarly, the Okanagan Indian Band issued an evacuation order for over 80 properties, and the nearby Spallumcheen Township upgraded its evacuation alert to an evacuation order.
The Thompson-Nicola Regional District also said that it would issue an evacuation order for all areas of Cherry Creek south of the Trans Canada Highway near Kamloops, as well as properties in the Tobiano area on the south side of the highway.
Evacuation alerts have also been issued thanks to the evolving wildfire situation. On Sunday, Kamloops issued an evacuation alert for 734 properties as the nearby Tremont Creek wildfire grew, CBC News reported.
BC issued a release on Sunday which warned travellers that highways in the Interior could be closed with limited notice.
Last week, the BC Wildfire Service warned that windy conditions, along with a persisting summer heatwave, could complicate the province’s wildfire situation coming into the weekend. True to the forecast, strong winds manifested in BC which fanned the flames.
Yesterday, fire information officer Erika Berg called the winds a challenge for both firefighters and residents, as the gusts stoke the flames in the southern and Interior regions. Berg also warned that many of the bigger fires of note grew overnight, including the Tremont Creek fire.
"What we're anticipating for today is for it to be windy, more windy than yesterday, which will likely result in increased fire activity and potential for growth," Berg said.
"We did see the winds as forecasted and they did challenge our containment."
The fire information officer noted that as of August 15, about 270 active wildfires are burning in the province, with a total of just under 7,000 sq. km of land burned.
