By Vanessa Ybarra

Wildfire evacuation order expanded for Little Fort area

Jul 8, 2017 | 5:00 PM

KAMLOOPS — With wildfires showing no sign of slowing down in the Little Fort region Saturday, an additional 22 properties were put on evacuation order north of Hallamore Lake north-east of Little Fort, bringing the grand total of properties in the Little Fort area to approximetly 150.

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“We’re looking at roughly around 300 people and we just received an order earlier today to evacuate another one hundred people,” said Clearwater RCMP Cpl. Mark Labossiere. “We, as well as Clearwater Search and Rescue are going door to door to find out if people are home and let them know there’s fire in their area and it’s potentially coming their way.”

There are currently three fires burning near Little Fort and the Clearwater area.

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“One is 50 hectares in size, the other two fires combined are about 120 hectares in size,” said Max Birkner, Fire Information Officer with Kamloops Fire Centre.

Highway five has quickly become a crawl as residents from throughout the region race to Clearwater and other communities to seek safety.

“We’ve opened a reception centre at the Clearwater Legion building for people in the Dunn Lake area and Little Fort due to the evacuation order,”said Clearwater Mayor John Harwood. “We’ve also opened the arena for lodging if people need to lodge.”

The village of Clearwater is hoping it doesn’t become the next wildfire victim.

“That’s been our past experience because of the valley locked in and the other valleys, they can spread really quickly,” said Harwood. “A burning ember can travel two kilometres, so we’re very cognizant of how quickly this can spread.”

More than 180 forest fires have spread primarily in the Southern Interior and the Cariboo in the last 48 hours.

There are more than one thousand firefighters fighting the mass infernos, with the province officially declaring a provincial state of emergency for the first time since 2003.

“No one has seen a situation such as quite like what we have on our hands today,” said Transportation Minister Todd Stone. “The sheer volume of massive fires that have been as agressive as they are and have grown as fast as they have and have threatened as many communities as is the case is unprecedented in British Columbia which is why we’re going to deploy every available resource to combat these fires.” 

Little Fort evacuees and those around the province are being urged to turn off their homes power and propane tanks as a precaution, with some residents installing roof sprinklers to try and spare their home from embers and debris.

With 30 degree weather expected to continue well into next week, fire officials say the province’s fire fight is far from over.

“There’s no real relief in sight in terms of sustained rain, if any rain at all for that matter,” said Kevin Skrepnek,” Chief Fire Information Officer with Kamloops Fire Centre. “We’re certainly in this for the long haul.”

In the meantime officials are urging the public to follow fire safety rules in effect.

“Please do not have campfires or throw cigarettes outside,” said Labossiere. “If you have to travel make sure it’s for specific reasons. Highways right now can be closed in a matter of minutes. You can leave Kamloops and one minute the highways open, then you reach Little Fort and the highways closed.”

Police urging those who are ordered to hit the road, to act fast.

“We’re hoping that people will volunteer and leave,” said Labosseire. “We want to stress that this is a volatile situation.”