More than 120 wildfires are burning in B.C., as firefighters brace for challenging weather this long weekend.
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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.
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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 four evacuation alerts and six 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.
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Fire officials say heavy smoke from this wildfire is expected to reduce visibility for aircraft Thursday as temperatures spike to 27 C with wind gusts.
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Overall, firefighters are battling 129 wildfires in the province, including 50 out-of-control blazes and four wildfires of note.
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As more extreme fire behaviour is expected in the coming days, the B.C. Wildfire Service is also warning residents to heed evacuation orders.
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This after first responders had to extract someone from an evacuation order area who refused to leave, even becoming belligerent with firefighters.
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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.
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But choosing to remain puts “yourself, your family and first responders in danger. It’s not worth the risk,” the service added.
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B.C. Wildfire Service incident commander Bryce Moreira said when fire crews asked the person to leave he became difficult.
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“I won’t repeat exactly what he said but it was not in a nice way, and quite explicit,” he said.
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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.”
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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.
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Clinton mayor Roland Stanke expressed some concern about the planned ignition aimed at managing the rapidly spreading fire.
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“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.”
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He said his understand is that firefighters will only proceed if all the conditions are in favour, and the odds of all the conditions being perfect are slim.
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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.
