Okanagan Lake wildfire more than doubles in size, forcing thousands to evacuate

The Bradley Creek wildfire more than doubled in size over the weekend, forcing thousands of people from their homes as evacuation orders spread across communities at the northern end of Okanagan Lake.

The out-of-control blaze prompted multiple evacuation orders Saturday afternoon for the main reserve of the Okanagan Indian Band, the township of Spallumcheen and the Splatsin First Nation.

At a news conference Sunday, B.C.’s director of wildfire operations, Cliff Chapman, said more than 5,000 people have been evacuated across the province in the past 24 hours.

According to DriveBC, wildfires across the province shut down several highways across B.C. including Highway 97 on the west side of Okanagan Lake.

The Bradley Creek wildfire burning in B.C.’s North Okanagan has grown from about 10 square kilometres to roughly 26, the B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) said Sunday morning.

“We are seeing fuel conditions that we have never seen before. We are seeing fire behaviour and fire growth that we have never experienced in B.C. up until this point,” said Chapman.

Officials said crews observed sustained 80 km/h winds over the fire and 115 km/h winds at elevation.

Around midnight Sunday, the City of Armstrong issued an evacuation alert affecting 15 properties. The Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD) also issued an evacuation alert covering roughly 217 properties, as of 1 p.m. The district estimates there are approximately 500 people affected by alerts in the region.

Further south along Okanagan Lake, another wildfire prompted a separate evacuation order, which it expanded today. The Quilpituk Creek wildfire, discovered Saturday, prompted the Central Okanagan Regional District (RDCO) to issue an evacuation order affecting properties in the area north of Nahun and south of La Casa, roughly 30 kilometres north of Kelowna.

Just before 3 p.m. Sunday, the RDCO expanded its evacuation order to cover all properties south of the Okanagan Indian Band’s IR 1 to north of Nahun due to the Quilpituk Creek and Bradley Creek wildfires. The evacuation order affects now roughly 81 properties.

Residents are being told to follow the evacuation route, south on Westside Road.

The RDOC encouraged residents to monitor official sources for the latest evacuation orders and alerts, including EmergencyInfoBC and local authority communications.

The B.C. Wildfire Service said 31 new wildfires started across the province in the past 24 hours, while crews declared nine out.

Tactical evacuation

In an email to CBC News, the Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness said that as of 9 a.m. PT Sunday, there were 42 evacuation orders affecting about 4,000 properties and 40 evacuation alerts covering another 4,500 properties.

That’s up from about 2,900 properties under evacuation orders and 2,800 under alerts at 1 p.m. PT Saturday, according to the ministry.

Another of the new fires is threatening almost 1,000 properties in the East Kootenay. The Wait Creek wildfire, discovered Saturday, has prompted evacuation orders for parts of the Regional District of East Kootenay. The order covers about 972 dwellings in the Ta Ta Creek, Wasa Lake and Lazy Lake areas, including campsites, according to the district.

Emergency crews conducted a tactical evacuation Saturday afternoon. Evacuees are being directed to the Emergency Support Services reception centre at Parkland Middle School in Cranbrook, B.C.

Elsewhere, the Pear Lake fire, part of the Big Bar Complex, is burning roughly 20 kilometres southwest of the Village of Clinton, B.C. It’s the largest active wildfire in the province at about 1,039 square kilometres.

Another evacuation order was issued in relation to the Big Bar Complex, as the Thompson-Nicola Regional District ordered the evacuation of about 10 properties in the Bonaparte Plateau area at 2 p.m. Sunday — due to the French Bar Creek wildfire, roughly 371 square kilometres large.

In a Sunday morning update, the BCWS said “with these cooler temperatures, higher humidity and lighter winds,” fire behaviour will be less intense than the previous day.

But it said “fuels remain heavily impacted by drought” in the area and, if conditions are sunny, they are highly susceptible to ignition and increased activity.