Windy, hot weather this week could hamper progress as B.C. firefighters work to contain three major fires of note during an early fire season.
READ MORE: Crews look to mid-week rain for relief as B.C. wildfires hold steady
The Tommy Lakes wildfire, burning north of Fort St. John, is estimated to be just shy of 17,000 hectares in size after merging with the Beatton Lake wildfire on Friday.
There are seven helicopters, 90 firefighters and heavy equipment on site, according to the B.C. Wildfire Service.
Officials say it’s zero per cent contained. The Peace River Regional District issued an evacuation order for Electoral Area B on Saturday.
With concerns about fast-spreading flames and potential public interference with fire control, the B.C. Wildfire Service issued an area restriction order on travel over Crown land near the fire.
READ MORE: Huge wildfire burning north of Fort St. John forces evacuation order
The evacuation order and alert for Thompson-Nicola Regional District (TNRD) electoral area J is still in place due to the 2,700-hectare Allie Lake fire northwest of Kamloops.
Officials say that fire is still burning out of control.
The 500-hectare Xusum Creek fire prompted the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District to order evacuations of two properties along the Highline Road and evacuation alerts for almost 30 other addresses.
WATCH: Wildfire burning near Fort St. John
That fire has been 25 per cent contained, according to wildfire officials.
A community meeting is planned for area Seton Valley residents on Tuesday at the Sk’il Mountain Community School.
Meanwhile, a grass fire that took off on a Kelowna hillside, forcing a temporary closure of Mission Hill winery, is being called suspicious.
Fire officials say there were signs of a campfire in the area and people in about 50 homes were told to leave immediately during a tactical evacuation on Saturday night.
Crews battled tough conditions to put the fire out as it was on a rocky hillside with high winds.
READ MORE: Mission Hill Winery fire considered suspicious
At least six new fires have sparked throughout the province since Sunday, including one that’s already burned 40 hectares of bush on the Chataway Creek forest service road between Merritt and Logan Lake.
The blaze, which officials believe was likely human-caused, produced smoke visible from as far away as Kamloops.
During the 2017 wildfire season, the province’s worst on record, thousands of residents were forced from their homes and more than 120,000 hectares of trees and grassland were burned.
Officials say, although this year’s fire season is off to an early start, it’s still too soon to tell if it will be worse than any other.
~ With files from The Canadian Press
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