PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. — An 88-year-old wildfire evacuee from 100 Mile House, B.C., has been found.
Prince George RCMP have issued a news release saying Maria Martha Watt has been located and is safe.
Mounties issued a request for assistance on Monday after family and friends reported they had not talked to Watt since 100 Mile House was ordered evacuated.
Watt's home in the community was checked and police confirmed it was secure, but evacuation centres in Prince George and Kamloops said they did not believe she registered there.
Police have not said where Watt was located or why she did not contact relatives or friends.
B.C. OFFICIALS FACE CHALLENGES IN BRINGING PEOPLE HOME AFTER FIRE EVACUATIONS
A British Columbia official says getting people to safety as fast-moving wildfires approached was only half the battle — the other half will be returning them home.
Al Richmond, chairman of the Cariboo Regional District in B.C.'s central Interior, says the district has hit logistical snags as it prepares to allow the re-entry of residents of 100 Mile House and the surrounding area.
"We're beginning to look at how we can bring you folks home," he told a public meeting of evacuees gathered in Kamloops on Monday night.
"Now, I don't want you to believe that means you're coming home tomorrow or at the end of the week. There are many things that have to be done."
More than 40,000 people remain out of their homes as nearly 160 wildfires burn across the province. Residents of Cache Creek, with a population of about 1,000, will be allowed to return home today, while officials look at readying the 100 Mile House area for re-occupancy.
But Richmond said it's no easy task. For example, in 108 Mile House, 105 Mile House and 103 Mile House, the power was off for four or five days. The Canadian Red Cross has said all the spoiled food is hazardous material, he said.
"So those fridges and freezes you have in your house are probably going to go, and we're going to get information about how to dispose of those," he said.
"If you look at (108 Mile House) alone, 1,160 homes, times how many freezers, times how many fridges. Those are some of the logistics of taking you home."
Grocery stores and restaurants will also need to clean out and sanitize their shelves, refrigerators and freezers, and order more food, he added.
The district issued a statement that said a comprehensive assessment will be conducted to ensure the integrity of all infrastructure and utilities, such as water, sewer, roads, hydro, natural gas and emergency telephone services.
Priority services will also be established, including but emergency healthcare services, waste management services and security, it said.
Cache Creek residents will be allowed to go home at 3 p.m. today after being evacuated 10 days ago. Officials with the Thompson-Nicola Regional District said that while the 520-square-kilometre Ashcroft fire continues to grow and burn out of control, the imminent threat to Cache Creek has diminished.
But the village will remain on evacuation alert, meaning people must be prepared to leave again at a moment's notice.
A wind-fuelled flare-up of a fire near Williams Lake Saturday forced the evacuation of that city, but Richmond said crews had managed to keep the flames in check about seven kilometres northwest of the community.
He said the reason it was evacuated was because the fire breached the road to the north and one exit point was lost.
"That's why it was evacuated. Not because the flames were marching over the hill because some people like to believe, but because in order to get you out safely, calmly, you needed to leave then."
More than 1,880 square kilometres of the province have been burned by wildfires this year, exceeding the entire 2016 fire season.
SMOKE FROM B.C. WILDFIRES DELAYS KAMLOOPS FLIGHTS, PROMPTS WARNING IN METRO VANCOUVER
Smoke from numerous wildfires burning in British Columbia's Interior prompted the Kamloops airport to cancel several flights Tuesday because of poor visibility.
Air quality around Kamloops is forecast to reach a rating of eight out of ten-plus, meaning smoke-laden air poses a high health risk for infants, the elderly and those with lung or heart conditions.
The smoke is also smudging the skies of Metro Vancouver, resulting an air quality advisory for the area and for the Fraser Valley due to high levels of fine particulates.
In Quesnel and the North Okanagan, the air quality carries a high health risk rating, with a rating of seven.
Williams Lake in the central Cariboo, where thousands were forced from their homes on the weekend, is listed at a very high health risk, with a ranking of 20, although conditions are expected to improve through the day.
An Environment Canada special air quality statement remains up for all areas but the northern and coastal regions of B.C., with a warning that concentrations of smoke particles will vary widely as winds, fire behaviour and temperatures change.
