Close X
Monday, February 17, 2025
ADVT 
National

Half-Dozen Fires Burn Together To Create One Huge Blaze: BC Wildfire Service

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 21 Aug, 2017 12:34 PM
    KAMLOOPS, B.C. — Several large wildfires have combined into what the BC Wildfire Service says is the largest blaze burning in the province.
     
    The wildfire service says at least six fires in an area west of Quesnel in central B.C. have burned together to create a single fire that is about 4,700 square kilometres in size.
     
    Until Sunday, the wildfire service said the largest fire covered 2,270-square kilometres and was burning about 60 kilometres west of Williams Lake.
     
    Fire officials reported 137 blazes across the province on Sunday and the wildfire service website shows seven new fires started in a 24-hour period.
     
    Four are believed to be linked to lightning but the website says three may have been caused by human activity.
     
     
    Several evacuation orders northwest of Kamloops were downgraded to alerts over the weekend, allowing residents around Loon and Green lakes to return home,
     
    Members of the Skeetchestn Indian Band west of Kamloops were cleared to return as of noon on Monday. 
     
     
    EVACUATION ORDER LIFTED AFTER B.C. WILDFIRE DESTROYS DOZENS OF HOMES
     
     
    WILLIAMS LAKE, B.C. — Hundreds of people are being allowed to return to Loon Lake, B.C., more than a month after flames forced them from their homes and destroyed dozens of buildings in the community.
     
    The Thompson-Nicola Regional District lifted an evacuation order for 309 properties in the area, but an alert remains in place, warning residents that they may need to leave again on a moment's notice.
     
     
    The evacuation order was issued in mid July when a fire threatened the community, located about 130 kilometres northwest of Kamloops in B.C.'s Interior.
     
    About 40 structures were destroyed by the flames, including vacation properties and permanent homes, said Megan Gregory, an information officer with the regional district.
     
    In late July, local authorities released footage taken by a drone flying over an area devastated by the flames. The video shows the crumpled remains of homes, the metal skeletons of vehicles, piles of ash and blackened trees.
     
    "The landscape, from pictures people have been sharing, has significantly changed," Gregory said.
     
    A meeting was held Sunday morning to give returning residents information on what they can expect to see and how to deal with some of the things they may encounter, including spoiled food and fridges that must be disposed of.
     
     
    Overall, people are excited to return, Gregory said.
     
    "From their interactions online and being part of some of their Facebook chats, they're a great group of people and they're so happy to be going home."
     
    A lifted evacuation order is great news, but there are things residents need to remember as go home, said Chris Duffy with Emergency Management BC.
     
    "We want to remind people as they're returning to their communities to be patient and respect the direction of first responders, local authorities, fire crews and the RCMP that are working in and around their community to keep them safe," he said.
     
    About 3,800 people around the province remain displaced by the flames and another 9,700 are on evacuation alert.
     
    In addition to the evacuation alert in Loon Lake, an area restriction remains in place, which prohibits the public from entering the vicinity.
     
    Kevin Skrepnek, chief information officer for the BC Wildfire Service, said the ban is in place because fire crews are active in the area and hazards like damaged trees could remain in the fire's wake.
     
    "Loon Lake itself is in the heart of where the fire did burn," Skrepnek said.
     
    It was one of 137 fires still burning in B.C. Sunday, he added, but the flames are moving away from Loon Lake.
     
    "It's seldom an area will burn twice. It depends on how thoroughly it burned through that area, but generally, once a fire has gone through, it won't go back," Skrepnek said.
     
    More than 1,000 fires have burned across B.C. since April 1, scorching about 9,000 square kilometres.
     
    Scattered showers were seen across parts of the province over the weekend, but Skrepnek said people shouldn't get complacent because of the rain.
     
    "By no means, has this rain done much to really alleviate our situation right now," he said.
     

    MORE National ARTICLES

    B.C. Joins Legal Battles Against Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion

    B.C. Joins Legal Battles Against Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion
    The province has hired former Supreme Court Justice Thomas Berger to represent it in two legal actions

    B.C. Joins Legal Battles Against Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion

    Group Opposed To Abortion Loses Bid To Advertise On Vancouver-Area Buses

    Group Opposed To Abortion Loses Bid To Advertise On Vancouver-Area Buses
    VANCOUVER — A group opposed to abortion has lost a Charter of Rights challenge to have its ads displayed on the outside of Metro Vancouver buses after a B.C. Supreme Court judge ruled they could cause harm to women and children.

    Group Opposed To Abortion Loses Bid To Advertise On Vancouver-Area Buses

    Uber Launches Fleet Of Mapping Vehicles In Vancouver Ahead Of Fall Rollout

    VANCOUVER — A popular ride-hailing company wants to get the lay of the land as it gears up to hit the streets of Metro Vancouver by the end of the year.

    Uber Launches Fleet Of Mapping Vehicles In Vancouver Ahead Of Fall Rollout

    Canadian Pastor Freed From North Korean Prison 'On His Way Home': Family

    Canadian Pastor Freed From North Korean Prison 'On His Way Home': Family
    TORONTO — Relatives of a Canadian pastor released this week after more than two years in a North Korean prison said Thursday he is "on his way home" and they are anxious to be reunited with him.

    Canadian Pastor Freed From North Korean Prison 'On His Way Home': Family

    Suspected Opioid Use In Sarnia, Ont., Leaves 1 Dead, 2 In Hospital

    Suspected Opioid Use In Sarnia, Ont., Leaves 1 Dead, 2 In Hospital
    Police in Sarnia, Ont., have issued a public safety notice after one person died and two others were taken to hospital on Wednesday evening due to suspected drug overdoses.

    Suspected Opioid Use In Sarnia, Ont., Leaves 1 Dead, 2 In Hospital

    Canadian Brides-To-Be Scramble After Bridal Retailer Files For Bankruptcy

    Canadian Brides-To-Be Scramble After Bridal Retailer Files For Bankruptcy
    TORONTO — Margaret Perdue started bawling when she heard on the radio that the bridal retailer responsible for her wedding gown had abruptly closed its doors.

    Canadian Brides-To-Be Scramble After Bridal Retailer Files For Bankruptcy