What you need to know about B.C. wildfires on Aug. 7

What you need to know about B.C. wildfires on Aug. 7

New evacuation order issued near Merritt due to growth on Ainslie Creek wildfire

Evacuation orders have been issued for residents south of Lillooet as a wildfire burning out of control continues to grow.

On Friday, the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District issued the evacuation order for 16 properties in the Texas Creek area. The T'it'q'et First Nation also issued an evacuation order for five homes located on T'it'q'et Indian Reserve #2 Towinock.

Meanwhile, the Thompson-Nicola Regional District issued a new evacuation order for 57 properties south of Merritt in the Nicola Valley on Friday due to growth on the Ainslie Creek wildfire.

The district also issued an evacuation alert for 783 properties southwest of the city.

The 406-square-kilometre Ainslie Creek wildfire forms part of the Brunswick Creek complex that broke out in the Boston Bar area in early July.

The new order comes days after the Fraser Valley Regional District downgraded evacuation orders of its own through much of the Fraser Canyon due to reduced fire activity in that area.

The most active fronts of the fire are now to the southeast, burning about 14 kilometres away from Highway 5, and to the northeast, about 11 kilometres away from Highway 8.

On Thursday, the Central Okanagan Regional District also expanded an evacuation order to include roughly 400 more properties threatened by the 11.4-square-kilometre Quilpituk Creek fire.

The evacuation order now covers 2,648 properties on the west side of Okanagan Lake.

An evacuation alert is in place for a further 321 properties.

Provincewide, there were 7,000 properties under evacuation orders and 3,500 under alerts as of Friday morning.

Wildfires force more evacuation orders in B.C.'s Okanagan

The wildfire service said it's expecting "challenging conditions to continue" amid a forecast that includes wind, hot, dry weather and dry lightning on Saturday and Sunday.

"Weather is a major factor in how we're seeing the current wildfire situation evolve, and that's specifically across the southern half of the province," fire information officer Vanessa Bell said.

The French Bar Creek fire, part of the Big Bar complex burning around Clinton, has shown significant growth, the BCWS said in its Thursday report, although it said low visibility has made it difficult to accurately track the size.

The service said no structures are currently threatened by the wildfire, but that it will likely continue to grow over the coming days.

Farther west, just outside the Big Bar complex, the Bonanza Creek wildfire is expected to see increased fire activity with hot, dry conditions and moderately gusty winds.

The BCWS said the Bonanza Creek and French Bar Creek wildfires could combine as one, should growth continue.

As of Friday morning, the French Bar Creek fire was burning over roughly 390 square kilometres and Bonanza Creek was covering 178 square kilometres.

Also in the Big Bar Complex, the Pear Lake wildfire covered 1,364 square kilometres as of the latest mapping and is the largest fire in B.C. It's burning about 20 kilometres north of Clinton.

The BCWS said Pear Lake only grew about one to three square kilometres a day this week, amid calm conditions, but that gusty, erratic wind and potential dry lightning are expected to begin Friday.

"With more sun and wind, we are expecting a significant increase in fire behaviour [Friday] that will continue through the weekend," BCWS said.

Some wildfires of note downgraded

The BCWS said two wildfires of note in East Kootenay, the Wait Creek and Tower Creek fires, are expected to be downgraded Friday.

Wildfires of note are ones that are creating an increased level of interest in the public.

The Wait Creek wildfire, burning northeast of Kimberley, is being held as of Thursday.

To the city's west, the Tower Creek fire continues to burn out of control. The BCWS says operations are ongoing on it, but updates will become less frequent.

About 100 fires were burning across the province as of midday Friday. One had been discovered in the last 24 hours and seven had been declared out in the same period.

As of Friday morning, virtually all of southern B.C. was under an Environment Canada air quality warning, with more severe smoke forecast in the southern Interior and eastern Fraser Valley.

There were six Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) stations listed at very high risk as of midday Friday, including in Castlegar, Cranbrook, the south, central and north Okanagan, and Kamloops. Each one is forecast to fall into the moderate risk status by Saturday.

Across Metro Vancouver and northern B.C., the AQHI was listed at low risk. The eastern Fraser Valley and Williams Lake were listed as moderate.

According to DriveBC, several major routes remain closed because of wildfire activity.

Highway 1 is closed from Yale and to south of Boston Bar at Uztlius Creek Forest Service Road. Drivers are being directed to use Highway 3 or Highway 5.

The Big Bar Reaction Ferry, which runs across the Fraser River 72 kilometres west of Clinton, is not currently operating due to wildfires in the area.

Highway 97 is closed through Clinton, for a 60-kilometre stretch between Loon Lake Road and 76 Mile Frontage Road. Traffic is being detoured using Highway 1 through Kamloops, then to Highway 5 and Highway 24.

Westside Road along Okanagan Lake is closed between Shelter Cove and Highway 97 north for about 42 kilometres, cutting off a key route for residents to the west of Okanagan Lake. The road is open as far as Shelter Cove, with Highway 97 serving as the alternate route.

Toward the U.S. border, Silver Skagit Road is closed south of Flood Hope Road to the Canada-U.S. border because of the Hozomeen Mountain wildfire. Silver Lake remains open, but Ross Lake Campground and Skagit Valley Provincial Park are closed.