Residents of North Bend, B.C. are being ordered to evacuate as an out of control wildfire continues to grow in the Fraser Canyon.
The fire, just outside the community of Boston Bar, has reached 100 hectares in size, the B.C. Wildfire Service said in an alert issued early Sunday morning. The fire has been steadily growing since it was first discovered on Thursday.
Officials say they believe the fire was caused by human activity.
The Fraser Valley Regional District, the agency that manages the Fraser Canyon, declared a state of emergency on Saturday, as residents were advised to leave the area. In an update Sunday morning, the Wildfire Service said approximately 60 residences along Chaumox Road must evacuate immediately.
An evacuation alert has also been put in place for the entire community of Boston Bar. Residents are being advised to gather family members, pets, and essential items such as government ID and be ready to leave at a moment’s notice.
The Fraser Valley Regional District says the conference centre at the Hope Recreation Centre will open at 10:30 a.m. Sunday as a temporary reception centre for residents under the evacuation order.
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“Multiple aviation resources, initial attack and unit crews, as well as heavy equipment are responding,” the Wildfire Service said in a post on social media Saturday evening. “Crews and aviation resources are also responding to spot fires in the area, located north of the Brunswick Creek wildfire.”
The fire is currently burning on the west side of the Fraser River. The Wildfire Service says it expects the blaze will continue to grow, though it adds that growth is happening upslope and away from infrastructure and communities.
Hot and dry conditions could hinder efforts to extinguish the blaze. According to Environment Canada, temperatures will hover around the 30 C mark until Tuesday, with a near zero chance of rain. Smoke from the fire could be seen as far away as the Okanagan.
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An air quality advisory is in effect for the Fraser Canyon.
According to the Wildfire Service, five other wildfires are currently burning out of control across the province. Fires in the Fraser Valley are blowing smoke east through Okanagan.
On Saturday afternoon, crews from the West Kelowna Fire Rescue responded to a growing grass fire along Highway 97 and Seema Road.
Crews say the fire grew to approximately 0.2 hectares before it was extinguished.
The cause of that fire remains under investigation.
Smoke from fires in the Northwest Territories is also drifting throughout northeastern B.C. According to the Northwest Territories government, there are currently 149 active wildfires in the region, burning a total area of 223,425 hectares. Of the active fires, 140 are considered to be out of control.
–With files from The Canadian Press
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You seen one tree, you seen em all. Cut the trees down build the homes… build baby build!!
Were at over 1200 Hecture with the fire in Northbend.
Tell the F’N rez workers to get to work in the fire forestry service, they probably started it with their sage burning in a teepee.
The forest didn’t start burning on its own, and it wasn’t ClimateChange™.
Hey anonymous, that’s alot of speculation without evidence, I can see by that you have no brains and no guts. I think it was you throwing cigarettes out your liberal Tesla window.
So horrible that area is cooked
What tourist ashole started that one? Albertian pig or American