Williams Lake and surrounding area under evacuation order due to wildfires

In addition to the services being offered at 11 evacuation centres across the province, hundreds of British Columbians have stepped up to offer up their homes as accommodation for those affected by the wildfires.

In the Lower Mainland, the wildfire reception centre in Cloverdale is open 7am til 9pm.

Evacuees from Williams Lake are also being accepted there. It took Ms. Lorenzetto and her friends 8 1/2 hours to reach Kamloops. “It was just chaos”.

“We are going to get through this”.

A Facebook page has been set up to connect evacuees with Kamloops residents willing to help.

He fled Fort McMurray during last year’s wildfires there, too. “We got what we could”, she said breaking into tears.

Emergency officials have issued an Evacuation Order for the city of Williams Lake and surrounding areas. Gusts of 70 km / h are expected this weekend.

Current highway conditions, including road closures, can be found by calling Drive B.C.’s toll-free line at 1-800-550-4997.

For further information on the wildfire situation, or impacts to health facilities and services, please visit the Interior Health Major Events page on the IH website. As well, it’s still early in the wildfire season. Imperial Metals Corp and Taseko Mines Ltd said separately on Monday they had suspended operations at mines in the area.

“All we need is a call from the OFC”, he said Friday morning.

423 km2: area of the largest fire.

Stone said financial aid from the Canadian Red Cross has been distributed to about 7,000 families and 80% of those who have registered have received funds. Numerous same people had been forced to flee this spring from the possibility of major flooding from a damaged dam spillway.

Massive forest fires forced the evacuation of a total of 36,000 people in the Canadian westernmost province of British Columbia.

About 40 kilometres north of Cache Creek, the Ashcroft Reserve fire tore through Loon Lake.

“When it is this hot and dry, and of course with these winds in the forecast, it just makes things all the more volatile”, said Skrepnek.

Fire crews have been able to oversee significant controlled burning over the past few days around Williams Lake thanks to a brief reprieve in the weather, Skrepnek said.

“It’s complex”, Ms. Dupont said.

“Residents in these areas who are unable to self-evacuate must make their way to a muster point in the City immediately as buses departing the City can not wait indefinitely”, a news release said Saturday evening.

Another fast-moving fire raced through brush and forest above Okanagan Lake in the community of Lake Country on Saturday, destroying eight homes.

Also, the numbers vary, but between 200 and 300 homes have been evacuated, according to Lake Country Fire Chief Steve Windsor.