100 MILE HOUSE, B.C. — Residents of more than 1,800 properties in central British Columbia have been told they may have to leave with just moments notice as a wind-fanned wildfire grows closer.
BC Wildfire Service chief information officer Kevin Skrepnek said the Gustafsen wildfire broke out Thursday west of 100 Mile House, about 450 kilometres northeast of Vancouver, and quickly grew in size to 12-square kilometres.
"The conditions we are seeing are just so hot and dry, that has really driven the behaviour we have seen out there," he said, adding more gusty winds were expected Friday.
Thirty-three properties had already been ordered evacuated by late Thursday and the exponential growth of the flames prompted the Cariboo Regional District to place the other 1,800 properties on evacuation alert just hours later.
"Given the potential for this fire to grow, I think there's a very real chance that could be changed to an evacuation order by the end of the day," Skrepnek said.
The evacuation orders and alerts cover properties around 105 Mile House and 108 Mile House, west of Highway 97 and just north of 100 Mile House.
A reception centre for evacuees has been opened at a local curling rink in 100 Mile House.
Cariboo Regional District chairman Al Richmond said sprinkler protection systems that were set up Thursday on some of the 33 homes in th
direct path of the fire did their job.
"The fire has burned past them and those structures are still in place, so those units ... protected those homes for those folks," he said.
The situation is serious, Richmond added, but he urged people not to overreact.
"We had a fellow going door to door in some communities (Thursday) telling people to get out and so we had to try to hunt him down with the RCMP to stop that," he said.
Skrepnek said 120 firefighters were assigned to the blaze and were working to build guards along the eastern flank of the fire, nearest to the communities on evacuation alert.
More equipment was enroute, although heavy smoke and poor visibility could hamper the use of air tankers, he said.
A cause of the fire is under investigation.
