The communities of Ashcroft and Spences Bridge along with some homes and properties in the surrounding areas, including Cache Creek, have been placed under evacuation alerts due to the threat of an advancing wildfire.
The Shetland Creek ballooned to more than 13,200 hectares in size overnight as the province enters what’s expected to be a treacherous weekend of fire activity.
In a bulletin posted Friday, all residents of Ashcroft were warned to pack essentials and be prepared to leave on a moment’s notice.
A smaller number of properties in Cache Creek, including all properties at the Cache Creek Regional Airport, were also placed on alert.
The Thompson Nicola Regional District expanded an evacuation alert for the area to now cover 222 properties.
The expansion covers all properties along Highway 1, including the community of Spences Bridge, north to the Village of Cache Creek, and TNRD properties surrounding the Village of Ashcroft.
It also expanded evacuation orders for the area, which now cover 88 properties.
An evacuation alert has also been issued for the Ashcroft Band Community, including IR 4 and 105 Mile Post 2.
Nearly 280 wildfires were burning across British Columbia Friday, 79 of which started in the last 24 hours, and 56 per cent of which are listed as “out of control.”
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More than 800 BC Wildfire Service personnel were on the ground provincewide, with a heat wave expected to last into next week.
DriveBC is warning that Highway 1 through the area could face intermittent closures on short notice as a result of the fire.
Drivers are being warned to use caution and avoid the route if possible.
The Thompson Nicola Regional District has issued evacuation orders for 85 properties and evacuation alerts for another 170 addresses in relation to that fire.
The Cook’s Ferry Indian Band has also issued orders for several reserves.
Crews were also busy battling a surge in new lightning-caused wildfires in the province’s southeast.
Officials have issued evacuation orders for 11 rural properties near Silverton due to a cluster of fires on both sides of Slocan Lake in the Aylwin Creek area. Another 91 properties are on evacuation alert.
None of the fires has grown larger than 10 hectares.
Crews also made progress fighting a cluster of fires near Nelson, with the fire nearest the city now listed as “under control.”
The surge in wildfire activity comes as Environment Canada maintains 29 heat warnings spanning most of the southern Interior and stretching up through central B.C. into the northeast, along with inland sections of the north and central coasts.
The weather office says much of the Interior is expected to see temperatures in the 30s over the coming days, along with overnight lows in the mid-teens.
— with files from The Canadian Press