Evacuation alert holds as Lillooet wildfire burns

Residents of the Yalakom Valley near Lillooet remained on evacuation alert Saturday morning as fire crews battle a 600-hectare forest fire.

B.C. Forest Service said higher temperatures and a lower relative humidity may result in increased fire activity this weekend.

One home, in the town of appoximately 85 people, was evacuated Wednesday night after the Jade wildfire was sparked earlier that day.

An evacuation alert was issued Thursday, said Leslie Lloyd, a spokewoman for Squamish-Lillooet Regional District.

Eight helicopters and 80 firefighters are currently battling the blaze, fire information officer Kayla Pepper said in a release.

Steep, rocky terrain in the Yalakom Valley is making it difficult for firefighters to contain the forest fire, she said.

Meanwhile, fire crews successfully brought a blaze under control that flared up Thursday near Okanagan Falls in Penticton.

The Okanagan Falls fire was caused by human activity, said the forest service, while the source of the Jade fire is still being investigated.