Latest news with #BCWildfireService
CBC
12 hours ago
- Climate
- CBC
70-hectare fire of note burning east of Harrison Lake, B.C. is making locals nervous
B.C.'s only fire of note, as of Thursday, is burning on the east side of Harrison Lake, having grown to 70 hectares. B.C. Wildfire Service has more than 3 dozen firefighters on scene, as well as helicopters and skimmers. Michelle Gomez reports on the fire that's making locals nervous.
CTV News
14 hours ago
- Climate
- CTV News
Evacuation alerts issued as fire near Harrison Lake grows
The Bear Creek wildfire is seen from above on July 30, 2025, in this image from the BC Wildfire Service. An evacuation alert has been issued due to an out-of-control wildfire near Harrison Lake, according to officials. The Bear Creek fire sparked on Tuesday and had grown to an estimated 90 hectares by Thursday afternoon, the B.C. Wildfire Service said in an online update Thursday. The Fraser Valley Regional District issued an alert for the Cascade Peninsula Recreation site, which has 25 campsites and a day-use area. Roughly 50 cabins in the North Cascade Bay area are also on alert due to the 'potential danger to life and safety,' according to the notification from the district. Anyone who is not already in the area is being urged to avoid it, and those who are already there ate being advised to prepare to flee at a moment's notice. 'You are not required to evacuate at this time, but you must be prepared to evacuate on short notice. Failure to do so may result in you or your family not having the supplies you require, such as medications,' the alert said. Roads have also been closed in the area ahead of the long weekend in order to 'keep people out of the area for responder and public safety,' according to the BCWS. Two ground crews of 22 firefighters each have been assigned to fight the fire on the ground while five helicopters and a 'skimmer group' are responding to the blaze from above and collecting water from Harrison Lake. 'We urge the public to use common sense and keep their boats well away from areas where air tankers or helicopters operate. Public in the area will compromise responder safety and response efforts,' the BCWS website said. The fire is suspected to be human caused, according to the agency.
National Observer
15 hours ago
- Climate
- National Observer
Dozens of new fires in BC, amid evacuations and alerts
There's been a surge in wildfire activity in British Columbia associated with this week's high temperatures and thousands of lightning strikes, with dozens of new fires sparked in just one day. Multiple evacuation orders were in place across the province on Thursday, including for lakefront properties near Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, homes in the Okanagan Valley and two First Nation reserves near Lytton. By late Thursday, the BC Wildfire Service online dashboard showed more than 40 new fires in the past 24 hours. Almost half of the more than 90 fires burning across the province were started since Wednesday and the service said that number is expected to rise. "Yesterday, approximately 13,167 lightning strikes were recorded across B.C., with over 9,000 occurring within the Prince George Fire Centre," the service said in a statement on Thursday. It said with the hot and dry conditions this week, "fuels are extremely susceptible to ignition." Emergency officials in the Okanagan Valley said the hot temperatures made fighting a fire near Peachland difficult, although firefighting efforts on Wednesday helped tame the blaze. A statement from Central Okanagan Emergency Operations said aerial drops of fire retardant and water were effective in reducing fire behaviour. The fire was displaying rank-two fire behaviour, meaning "a surface fire with some open flame and a slow to moderate rate of spread," the emergency agency said. The blaze spread quickly on Wednesday, forcing police and fire crews to go door-to-door to evacuate residents from about 400 properties near Peachland. Another 225 properties were put on evacuation alert due to the fire that started Wednesday afternoon and quickly spread through tinder-dry brush. By Thursday, alerts and orders had been downgraded, with residents at 118 properties told they still had to stay out, while 490 properties were on evacuation alert. The operations centre said in a statement that no structural loss was reported. Emily Gow with Todd's Lakeside RV, located south of the blaze, said it was 'just up the highway,' but the business was not among the evacuated properties. Gow said she could see flames on Wednesday, but by Thursday the fire appeared to have calmed down. 'They're only dealing with little hot spots. There's no raging fire that's blooming all over the place.' She said guests were concerned the fire could get out of hand, but staff from the area weren't as worried. 'We've got guests anywhere from up the road to in Europe staying with us right now, so people were having a mixed range of emotions toward the fire,' she said, adding guests from Switzerland had checked in at about 11 p.m. Wednesday after delays due to highway closures in the area. Environment Canada has issued more than two dozen heat warnings in B.C., including in the central Okanagan, where temperatures could reach 38 C on Thursday. Temperatures were expected to moderate on Friday, a weather statement said. On Vancouver Island, an evacuation order was issued for properties in the Nanaimo region including waterfront properties on the north side of Cameron Lake and a portion of Little Qualicum Falls Provincial Park. Rebecca Taylor, a spokesperson for the Nanaimo Regional District, said "a few dozen" properties were covered by the evacuation order. A statement from the district said additional properties to the northeast of the lake are under an evacuation alert, meaning residents should be ready to leave if required. The Lytton First Nation issued an evacuation order Thursday for two sparsely populated reserves due to immediate danger posed by the out-of-control wildfire nearby, about 10 kilometres south of the village of Lytton. The order said residents were to leave the Lytton 26A and Skwayaynope 26 reserves immediately and head to a reception centre. Officials with the Lytton First Nation said there are only two households on the reservation plots, one of which is unoccupied, while the other belongs to a member of the First Nation firefighting team on the front lines of the fire. A spokesman for the First Nation said it was not the same area evacuated in June 2021, when much of Lytton was destroyed by a wildfire and two people were killed. The current Lytton wildfire was recently measured at 6.5 square kilometres and continues to burn out of control, causing the Thompson-Nicola Regional District and local First Nations to issue a series of evacuation alerts this week. Barj Dehaan said he was driving back home to Vancouver on Wednesday when he started seeing smoke about 30 kilometres east of Lytton. "As I got closer, I could see this huge plume of smoke. And as I got closer, I could see the literal fire as well, trees on fire. I have not seen a live fire like that before,' he said Thursday. He said the region has been very hot. "The air quality was poor, and I could feel a burning sensation in my throat, strong smell of burning wood. And then I started thinking about the people who live in that town, that here they are again, having to deal with a fire that seems to be out of control,' he said. The BC Wildfire Service has meanwhile upgraded a blaze in the Fraser Valley to a "wildfire of note" and is warning campers to leave the Harrison Lake area as roads are closed ahead of the long weekend. The 65-hectare Bear Creek fire is the first fire of note in B.C. since July 9, when the Izman Creek blaze near Lytton lost that status. — With files from CHNL
CBC
16 hours ago
- Climate
- CBC
Wildfire near Cameron Lake on Vancouver Island prompts evacuation order; Highway 4 remains open
An out-of-control wildfire on the north side of Cameron Lake has triggered an evacuation order and alert for nearby areas on Vancouver Island, close to the site of a 2023 fire that shut down Highway 4 for weeks. The Wesley Ridge wildfire, discovered shortly after midnight Thursday, is now estimated at 0.4 square kilometres and is burning in steep, difficult-to-access terrain, according to the B.C. Wildfire Service. The Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) has declared a state of local emergency and issued an evacuation order for properties on the north shore of the lake, including Chalet Road and Little Qualicum Falls Provincial Park. An evacuation alert, which asks residents to be ready to leave at a moment's notice, was also issued Thursday afternoon for the Meadowood area near Qualicum Beach, affecting nearly 300 properties. In a notice, the regional district said: "Residents will be given as much advance notice as possible before evacuation is ordered; however, you may receive limited notice due to changing conditions." Kimberly Kelly, a spokesperson for the Coastal Fire Centre, says the fire is burning at Rank 2 and Rank 3 intensity, a classification that indicates a low but active ground fire with visible open flames. About 40 wildfire personnel are currently on the ground, supported by crews from Coombs and Dashwood fire departments, as well as four helicopters. The wildfire service has also requested air tanker support. The wildfire service says the fire is burning on the opposite side of the lake from Highway 4, which remains open. Still, officials are urging drivers to use caution. "Travellers on Highway 4, please be mindful, crews and aircraft are working in the area. Proceed with caution, stay focused on the road and don't stop the flow of traffic," reads a statement from the B.C. Wildfire Service. DriveBC echoed the warning, advising motorists to watch for emergency crews on the road and smoke in the area. According to B.C. Parks, day-use areas at Cameron Lake and Beaufort along the Highway 4 corridor are now closed to support wildfire response efforts. The campground at Little Qualicum Falls remains open for now. The wildfire is suspected to be human-caused, a broad category that includes all fires not sparked by lightning. Highway 4 significant to west coast communities Although the fire is not threatening the highway at this time, the area has seen major disruption in the past. In June 2023, a wildfire on the south side of Cameron Lake, along the same highway corridor, forced the closure of Highway 4 for nearly three weeks. WATCH | Highway closure reflects communities' vulnerability, says Ucluelet mayor: Mayor says 3-week closure of Highway 4 was a wake-up call 2 years ago The mayor of Ucluelet, B.C., says the province needs to fund an alternative road out of western Vancouver Island after their only highway was closed for nearly three weeks. That closure caused an estimated $61 million in lost revenue for the region, which relies heavily on summer tourism. The highway is the only paved route to the 18,000-resident City of Port Alberni — as well as Tofino, Ucluelet and most communities in the Nuu-Chah-Nulth Nation.
CTV News
19 hours ago
- Climate
- CTV News
105-year-old high temperature record broken in B.C. community
Downtown Prince George is seen from L.C. Gunn Park in this photo shared by the city on Dec. 1, 2023. (City of Prince George/Facebook) Five communities in the B.C. Interior saw their hottest July 30 on record Wednesday, including Prince George, where the heat narrowly broke a record that had stood for 105 years. Prince George's high of 32.3 C reported by Environment and Climate Change Canada Wednesday is a 10th of a degree higher than the previous all-time record for July 30, which was 32.2 C, set in 1920. Records have been kept in the area since 1912. Penticton also broke a record by one 10th of a degree Wednesday. The mercury rose to 36.8 C in the Okanagan city, narrowly eclipsing the 36.7 C seen 95 years ago on July 30, 1930. Dawson Creek, Mackenzie and Quesnel all saw new records on Wednesday as well. In Dawson Creek, the new record for July 30 is 31.4 C, up from 30.6 C set in 1960. Mackenzie reached 33.4 C on Wednesday, breaking the previous 1971 record of 32.2 C. And Quesnel saw a high of 35.9 C, up from the previous record of 35.6, also set in 1971. The temperature records reported by Environment and Climate Change Canada come from 'a selection of historical stations in each geographic area that were active during the period of record.' Much of the B.C. Interior has been under a heat warning this week, and severe thunderstorm watches have also been issued in some regions. According to the B.C. Wildfire Service, approximately 13,167 lightning strikes were recorded across the province Wednesday, with more than 9,000 of those occurring in the Prince George Fire Centre. The BCWS reported 76 active wildfires in the province as of early Thursday afternoon. More than a third of the total – some 27 fires – had sparked in the last 24 hours.
