Terrace Mountain fire forces 2,500 to flee
Evacuation order issued for west Lillooet
Last Updated: Monday, August 3, 2009 | 8:12 AM PT
CBC News
A view of the Terrace Mountain fire on the east side of Okanagan Lake Saturday night. (Submitted by Kim Nasipayko)The raging Terrace Mountain fire has flared up again, forcing 2,500 people in B.C.'s Okanagan out of their homes just days after many of them had returned from an earlier evacuation order.
The fire, near Fintry, showed increased activity Saturday afternoon, sparking an evacuation order for 1,200 people. That order was expanded to 2,500 later in the evening.
Strong winds are pushing the fire toward homes along Okanagan Lake, Fire officials said.
Suzanne Vonderporton, with B.C.'s wildfire management branch, said the wind speed picked up considerably and the wind direction also contributed to the fire's growth.
Officials estimate the fire grew a staggering 2,500 hectares overnight.
Thermal imaging mapping Saturday night indicated the wildfire has consumed 7,520 hectares of forest, but officials say some of that includes fuel that has been burned off during efforts to fight the fire.
The blaze had been considered about 90 per cent contained.
Fintry resident Bruce Freeborn ignored last week's evacuation order, but he told CBC News on Sunday he wouldn't ignore the order this time around.
"The fire has really picked up," he said. "[Saturday] night there was big mushroom clouds and everything and it was really travelling down towards the Fintry area and La Casa and I knew it was way more serious."
"The mushroom cloud that was coming off that fire was the scariest thing I ever seen and so that's why I left. … Otherwise, I would still have been there."
More than 237 firefighters along with 16 helicopters are battling the blaze. Fintry is located on the west side of Okanagan Lake, about 35 kilometres north of Kelowna.
Evacuation order issued for Lillooet
The Mount McLean fire, near Lillooet, is shown in this recent photo. (B.C. Wildfire Management Branch/Canadian Press)Elsewhere, the province's forest service issued an evacuation order late Sunday night for an out-of-control wildfire less than one kilometre outside of Lillooet.
"The fire is spreading and progressing toward town," fire information officer Isabelle Jacques told CBC.ca. The evacuation order applies to the section of Lillooet that lies West of the Fraser River. Jacques said there were reports of ashes and embers falling near the town.
An evacuation order remains in place for properties on the northeast shore of Seton Lake, an area east of the Silicon Indian Reserve 2, and Puck Creek.
People in the First Nations community of T'it'qet were told to be ready to leave their homes at a moment's notice.
An evacuation order was also issued late Sunday for Alexis Creek, a community of about 200 people located 80 km west of Williams Lake.
The Mount McLean fire, which began with a lightning strike more than a week ago, now covers more than 2,650 hectares.
Sixty firefighters and 15 helicopters spent much of Saturday trying to contain the blaze near the southwest Interior town, about 180 kilometres northeast of Vancouver, by establishing contingency lines.
Jerry Sucharyna, with the District of Lillooet, said residents are doing what they always do when times get tough — they're pulling together and providing support.
Officials say the fire stabilized overnight, but they expect a challenging day is in store for crews battling the blaze Sunday.
The forest service currently lists 88 active wildfires in the province, some burning since early June.
Only a few are so-called interface fires, which threaten homes or other structures.
There have been almost 2,100 fires so far this season, scorching about 550 square kilometres of forest. The vast majority were caused by lightning.
Much of the province is covered by bans on campfires and other open flames. Premier Gordon Campbell has urged people to avoid going into the backcountry until the fire risk diminishes.
With files from The Canadian Press
