Wildfire officials say they are expecting that the wildfires burning in the Fraser Canyon will expand and grow in the coming days due to the wind and hot weather in the forecast.
In an update shared to social media on Thursday, George Campbell, the deputy incident commander for the Brunswick Complex fires, said that due to extreme winds gusting from 50 to 72 kilometres an hour, they are seeing “extreme fire behaviour and high rates of spread.”
Campbell said that between July 4 and July 9, the Brunswick Creek wildfire and the Ainslie Creek wildfire have impacted Highway 1, CP Rail, CN Rail, BC Hydro and the communities of North Bend, Alpine and the Boothroyd community and the Nahatlatch Valley.
Highway 1 and Chaumox Road near Boston Bar remain closed on Thursday due to the wildfires.
The Brunswick Creek fire, which started on July 2, is now an estimated 2,623.2 hectares in size.
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It has forced seven evacuation orders and two evacuation alerts and is suspected to be human-caused.
The Ainslie Creek fire is now an estimated 16,987 hectares and started from a spot fire on July 4.
Campbell said on that day they saw extreme wind gusts between 35 and 70 kilometres an hour from the south, which resulted in extreme fire behaviour and high rates of spread.
On Wednesday, it was discovered that the wildfires have destroyed multiple structures in the Fraser Canyon.
Shayne Findlay, whose family runs Blue Lake Resort, north of Boothroyd, said flames damaged multiple structures at the resort and the financial loss is significant.
“I had a webcam set up at the office,” he said.
“I had a backup generator, so I was able to watch my buildings burn down.”
Findlay said the resort will be shutting down for the summer while they determine next steps.
We are smelling the smoke at Shuswap lake. Mountains are hard to see through the haze.