Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Sydney Chisholm

shetland creek wildfire

‘People are really nervous’; Shetland Creek fire looms over Ashcroft

Jul 19, 2024 | 12:00 PM

SPENCES BRIDGE, B.C. —The Shetland Creek wildfire north of Spences Bridge saw significant growth overnight, more than doubling in size since updated Thursday (July 18) evening.

BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) says crews worked through the night to install and maintain structure protection near Venables Valley and the surrounding community.

Now burning about 11 kilometres southwest of Ashcroft, the wildfire now reached 12,402.5 hectares in size.

“The sky was literally orange from as far as the eye can see,” said the mayor of Ashcroft, Barbara Roden. “People have ash falling down on their decks, thick ash on their windshields.”

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According to BCWS, the blaze is travelling northwest and poses a limited threat to the Village of Ashcroft.

“People saw the Elephant Hill wildfire in 2017, they saw the Tremont Creek wildfire in 2021, and people are really nervous,” Roden told CFJC News.

However, the threat hit a little closer to home Thursday afternoon when the Village of Ashcroft placed the Ashcroft Ranch property on evacuation alert.

Those who occupy or use the property should be ready to leave on very short notice.

“We like to be proactive and give people warning because the purpose of an evacuation alert is to give people that heads up that they might have to leave suddenly,” said Roden, “so that they can actually do some planning, get the go bags, get the valuables together, get the pet’s things, the pet carriers rounded up.”

The move came as the Thompson Nicola Regional District (TNRD) expanded evacuation orders and alerts related to the Shetland Creek fire.

As of Friday morning (July 19), 170 properties are on evacuation alert in the TNRD and 85 properties have been issued an evacuation order.

With no relief forecast in the coming days, residents are urged to keep up to date with the changing conditions and emergency measures.

“I do expect we’re going to see some expansion of those alerts,” said TNRD EOC Director Kevin Skrepnek. “[It’s] fairly calm right now, but really no relief in sight in terms of the weather and certainly a potential disturbance next week once this heat wave collapses.”

Environment Canada issued a smokey skies bulletin for the entire region on Thursday, urging anyone with respiratory sensitivities to stay inside. The bulletin was renewed Friday morning.

“In some ways, that’s the worst part, because on top of everything else, the smoke is so aggravating and it’s so choking literally when it’s that close,” said Roden. “It’s going to be a rough few days, but I know that we’ll get through it.”