A forest fire that occurred behind a service station in northern Okanagan of BC on Friday night led to evacuation orders for 15 addressed properties.
The Coldstream district issued the evacuation order in the Lavington area on Friday night, along with an evacuation alert for dozens more properties.
An evacuation order means that residents in these areas must go immediately, while an evacuation alert means that residents must be prepared to go at any time.
The Regional District of Northern Okanagan urged all residents in the area to avoid the areas of noble Canyon and Becker Lake due to the fire, which covered an area of 66 hectares on Saturday morning.
Taylor Stewart Shantz, a fire information information officer of the BC forest fire service, said Friday night that it was discovered that the fire grew aggressively, spreading through the grass and nearby trees.
“We are dealing with very dry fuels at the base of the earth,” he said.
On Saturday, Stewart Shantz said the fire behavior had been reduced after the helicopters collected the fire with water during the night.
Firefighters are using multiple airplanes to help contain the fire, and Stewart Shantz said navigators should avoid nearby lakes this weekend, since the planes will use them to refuel.
The information officer said that the weather forecast this weekend could improve the perspective of firefighters in the Lavington area.
“We hope that the forecast is true, and that we have a little precipitation on Sunday, if not before.”
The Coquihalla highway is now open to drivers between Hope and Meritt after the Mine Creek forest fire caused its closure. But as Johna Baylon reports, the fire continues without control, placing much of the province under a warning of air quality.
Hundreds told him to leave Chilcotin
To multiple fires in the Chilcotina area, near Lake Anahim, they have led to hundreds that they leave their homes in the center of BC.
The Beef Trail Creek forest fire covered an area of 102 square kilometers northwest of Lake Anahim, and the dusty forest fire covered an area of 58 square kilometers southeast of the community, starting at 2:40 pm PT on Saturday.
The fire information officer, Mikhail Elsay, said that a thicker smoke layer on both fires had reduced temperatures and fire activity on Saturday, and as a result the winds were also limited.
“We expected a little power storm activity that we were [anticipating] I was going to bring thicker winds, but the smoke, again, has limited the development of thunderstorms that it has been in our favor, “he told CBC News.
Elsay said that the incoming weather system is a “double -edged sword”, since it could reduce fire behavior, but also bring unstable conditions to the region.
“We are basically working as hard we can put a perimeter in these fires, where we can so that people return home,” he said.
Elsay said he did not have a timeline about when residents will be allowed back.
It is suspected that the forest fire was caused by human activity, behind the Lavington Cuce service station, and was between almost 150 forest fires that burn in the province on Saturday morning.
