UPDATE: Evacuation of livestock west of Cawston begins due to heightened threat from Snowy Mountain Wildfire

UPDATE 8 P.M. WEDNESDAY:

Ranchers with cattle on Crown Land west of Cawston have been advised to start moving their animals to safer pastures with a new evacuation alert issued by the regional district.

The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) said the Snowy Mountain Wildfire has the potential to move south to the U.S. border.

The Desert Park Race Track in Osoyoos can stable horsee and livestock as needed with the assistance of Animal Lifeline Emergency Response Team (ALERT) Canada, said the evening release from the RDOS.

For information on evacuating pets or livestock, ALERT can be contacted at 250-809-7152 or visit http://www.alertcanada.org.

No homes or private property is involved in the expanded alert.

ORIGINAL STORY:

An evacuation order has been issued for a wildfire raging in the Similkameen.

On Wednesday, with the Placer Mountain wildfire still burning out of control, along with Tuesday winds helping fan flames and increase the overall size, the Regional District of the Okanagan-Similkameen issued an evacuation order for Cathedral Lakes Lodge. The regional district said the fire poses a heightened risk due to potential loss of road access to the lodge.

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In addition, B.C. Parks has closed Cathedral Provincial Park. All guests and hikers within the park are being asked to leave the area immediately.

The Placer Mountain wildfire was estimated at 1,521 hectares on Tuesday, with B.C.Wildfire Service stating that the fire saw growth to the north and west yesterday due to strong winds. It’s not yet known how big the fire is, as smoky conditions prevented BCWS from getting proper readings. One hundred and 16 firefighters are battling the blaze, along with nine helicopters and 14 pieces of heavy equipment.

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“Those people are being evacuated today,” said RDOS spokesperson Cameron Baughen, noting 865 residents are on evacuation alert throughout the Similkameen, mostly due to the massive Snowy Mountain wildfire just east of Keremeos.

“That was planned (Tuesday). We worked with the lodge to ensure that those people could get out safely. The main issue with Cathedral Lakes Lodge is the access is a long, private road within the park itself. It’s very heavily forested, so if the Placer Mountain fire moves to that direction, it could take us a while – we felt up to 48 hours – to get people out of there if they were hiking.

“We’re working with B.C. Parks and now that area for hiking is now closed.”

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Regarding the Placer Mountain wildfire, BCWS information officer Claire Allen said “a lot of the growth on the fire happened fairly late last night. Just given the fact that Snowy Mountain was also growing, we were working on doing the size estimate for that and it got so smoky that we couldn’t get accurate perimeters for the Placer Mountain fire. So the (1,521 hectares estimate) is very likely to increase once we get a better sight on the fire.

“It’s not really reflective of what it is right now. And the growth occurred on the north as well as the west side. And then our crews did a bit of control burning on the east side.”

The regional district noted that Ashnola Forest Service Road remains closed past the 25 kilometre marker. The evacuation order does not affect additional areas along the Ashnola Forest Service Road. including the Cathedral Lakes Lodge basecamp parking area, recreation sites before the 25-km marker, homes near Ewart Creek Road and access to Crater Mountain.

1:46 Overnight winds cause Snowy Mountain wildfire to double in size

A camp fire ban has been declared for the Kamloops Fire Centre region, which includes the Okanagan and Similkameen.

With the Snowy Mountain fire also burning out of control, the regional district issued an evacuation alert on Tuesday for 865 properties in the Cawston and Keremeos areas.

The Snowy Mountain fire is estimated at 6,155 hectares – more than double the size it was on Tuesday at 3,050 hectares. Nineteen firefighters are battling the blaze, along with three helicopters and four pieces of heavy equipment.

B.C. Wildfire Service said the wildfire’s growth was wind driven, with sustained 30 km/hr and gusts up to 50 km/hr coming out of the south.

“Up until yesterday, that fire hadn’t really seen much wind,” said Allen. “It had been driven by fuel type and topography, along with the extreme heat we’ve been having in the area. Yesterday, just given the break down in the ridge of high pressure that’s been causing the significant heat wave across B.C., we did see some thunderstorm activity and stronger wind radiants pick up.”

BCWS added that significant growth occurred on the east and north sides of the fire, and that crews worked to construct a handguard north of Susap Creek to tie into an existing guard to the south of the creek. A machine guard is also being established to the east of the handguard.

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Today, BCWS said crews are working to establish heli-pads on the ridge along control lines and will prepare for mop-up in secured areas.

Smoke is drifting from the incident to adjacent areas, and the smoke column and open flame is visible from the surrounding communities.

The regional district said updated counts this morning show 384 properties have been placed on alert within the Village of Keremeos and 481 properties in the rural Keremeos and Cawston areas. These numbers do not include areas within the Lower Similkameen Indian Band that are also under evacuation alert.