Cariboo Regional District Chair Al Richmond praises quick-thinking evacuees

Aug 13, 2017 | 11:11 AM

CANIM LAKE, B.C. — Cariboo Regional District Chair Al Richmond is praising Cariboo-Chilcotin residents for evacuating their homes quickly Saturday night.

Lightning strikes sparked two new wildfires near Canim Lake and Hawkins Lake, both east of 100 Mile House, at around 10 p.m.

“The fires came up very quickly and moved through to a substantial size,” said Richmond.

The Cariboo Regional District issued an evacuation order for both regions impacting 550 people.

“They virtually had no notice whateversoever, so that’s a very trying time for residents and certainly for the staff and RCMP and Search and Rescue members who were going door to door, waking people up and telling them they needed to move quickly.”

Alexis Creek residents were also ordered to evacuate as an existing fire burning nearby crept closer to their community.

Richmond says evacuees were sent to Williams Lake and 100 Mile House, with a few  travelling to Prince George and Kamloops.

Richmond adds the ESS Centre at Williams Lake isn’t set up to support long-term evacuees as the community is still under an evacuation alert, noting evacuees should resort to the other cities and communities for services.

Officials hope to have a better idea of the extent of the fire damage throughout the Cariboo-Chilcotin area later today.