Tension is high among residents of Logan Lake in B.C.’s Southern Interior after they were forced to flee their homes on Thursday due to a wildfire.
“It was pretty nerve-wracking yesterday. My phone started ringing at about 8 o’clock in the morning and hasn’t stopped since,” Robin Smith, mayor for the District of Logan Lake, said Friday morning.
The Tremont Creek wildfire is 38,000 hectares in size, and is located about seven kilometres from the community of Logan Lake.
Structure protection personnel, including multiple municipal fire protection apparatus, remained on scene throughout the evening to monitor the fire and assess structure protection needs, the BC Wildfire Service said on Friday.
These crews will continue assessing and installing structure protection equipment today in Logan Lake and in the Tunkwa Lake area.
Smith said the community’s 2,000 residents have done a lot of work regarding fire prevention and being ready for an evacuation order, but they don’t want to be too overconfident, as fires are unpredictable.
“The community has done an incredible job moving out in a safe and orderly manner,” she said.
Smith added they have been a FireSmart community for about 10 years, so many residents have items such as rooftop sprinklers that are installed by the local fire department.
“We’ve been proactive and I think it helps,” she said, “but there’s a lot of anxiety around being evacuated any time.”