Some residents of Monte Lake, a small B.C. community devastated by the White Rock Lake fire, are now able to view the damage first-hand as the district confirmed on Saturday that 28 residences and one business have been lost.
The community was evacuated on Aug. 5 after the White Rock Lake fire, burning between Vernon and Kamloops, jumped Highway 97 and scorched structures in the town.
The White Rock Lake fire, more than 600 square kilometres in size, continues to be the B.C. Wildfire Service’s primary concern as the heat wave currently affecting southern B.C. threatens fresh fire starts.
The Thompson-Nicola Regional District said conditions are currently safe enough for some property owners in Monte Lake and the Paxton Valley to assess the damage themselves, although the situation remains volatile.
“As of last night, we downgraded the evacuation order for a number of properties along Highway 97. It’s now an evacuation alert, and the Highway 97 has opened up,” said Andrew Roebbelen, spokesperson for the district.
Evacuation orders mean residents have to leave their homes immediately, while an evacuation alert means residents must be prepared to leave at a moment’s notice.
“We do have reports that 28 primary dwellings were destroyed in the White Rock Lake fire, as well as one commercial structure.”
Roebbelen said it’s likely more properties have been destroyed.
Just entering Monte Lake where the White Rock Lake Fire crossed Highway 97 on August 5th. Scorch marks and burned out vehicles. pic.twitter.com/6I5ammwDdX
Even as some residents in Monte Lake survey their losses, more than 6,000 properties across the province have been evacuated as upwards of 270 fires continue to burn.
The most recent area to be given an evacuation order is the Cutoff Creek fire region south of Vanderhoof in northern B.C.
End of heat wave creates its own problems
Although firefighters on the front lines of B.C.’s wildfires have been hindered by the current heat wave, the predicted change in weather on Sunday will also pose its own set of challenges.
“We are expecting a weather event [Saturday] evening as well as continuing Sunday and Monday,” said Erika Berg, a fire information officer with the B.C. Wildfire Service.
“That will bring with it some shifting winds, as well as a risk of dry lightning, which can result in some increased fire growth.”
A front arriving Sunday will cool temperatures on the southern coast of B.C. and clear away the smoke hanging over the region, but rain isn’t likely until later in the week.
“There will probably be chances of showers in through the Cariboo [region on Sunday], but it doesn’t really reach into the southern Interior where we need the rain,” said Mike Gismondi, a meteorologist with Environment Canada.
“There’s another front coming on Tuesday, and that looks like it will bring some rain into the southern Interior, into the Columbia-Kootenay, where we do need some rain.”
Gismondi says it is hard to tell whether the forecasted showers on Tuesday will significantly aid firefighting efforts, given the extremely dry conditions in the region.
On Satuday, a new evacuation order was issued for 22 properties south of Lytton, which was destroyed by a fire earlier this summer.
Another evacuation order was put in place for four properties in the Cutoff Creek Wildfire area in the Regional District of Bulkley Nechako on Saturday.
Anyone placed under an evacuation order should leave the area immediately.
Evacuation centres have been set up throughout the province to assist anyone evacuating from a community under threat from a wildfire. To find the centre closest to you, visit the Emergency Management B.C. website.
Evacuees are encouraged to register with Emergency Support Services online, whether or not they access services at an evacuation centre.