The Lower East Adams Lake wildfire in B.C.'s Shuswap region is shown in a handout photo. Wildfire crews in British Columbia are bracing for an incoming weather system expected to bring strong winds and dry lightning by Thursday, but conditions are already flaring in at least two areas of the province. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-BC Wildfire Service **MANDATORY CREDIT**
VANCOUVER – An airborne assessment was underway for a wildfire in southern British Columbia that has grown aggressively, trapping dozens of campers in a park southwest of Keremeos.
Erick Thompson, an information officer with the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen, says about 80 people are trapped in Cathedral Provincial Park as the Crater Creek blaze is burning near the only road into the area.
He says BC Wildfire Service officials and representatives from the regional district were assessing the situation by air to determine how best to get campers and staff from the privately run Cathedral Lakes Lodge out of the area.
Thompson says those trapped have been advised to shelter in place while an evacuation plan is formed.
An evacuation order was issued as the Casper Creek wildfire and the nearby Gillanders Creek blaze, which covered a combined 11 square kilometres early Tuesday, grew to what the wildfire service estimates is now 100 square kilometres.
A separate fire, west of Lillooet, also grew more threatening on Tuesday, prompting renewed evacuation orders and alerts for the communities of Shalath and Seton Portage, along Seton and Anderson Lakes.
Wildfire crews across B.C. are bracing for an incoming weather system expected to bring strong winds and dry lightning by Thursday.
Thompson said the Crater Creek fire had forced evacuation orders for 13 properties along the Ashnola River and in the Snowy Protected area of Cathedral Provincial Park, as well as Cathedral Lakes Lodge.
Residents in 74 other properties along the Similkameen River west of Keremeos were told to be ready to leave on short notice.
“Things did move very quickly,” Thompson said, describing the fire behaviour as “challenging.”
“There was an evacuation alert put in place at approximately 5 p.m., under the advice of the B.C. Wildfire Service,” said Thompson.
“From there until there was an evacuation order put in place at 10:15 p.m., certainly conditions changed.”
Thompson said those who are sheltering in place include staff and guests from Cathedral Lakes Lodge, plus campers close to the lodge and as many as 20 more campers who self-evacuated from a recreational campsite on Buckhorn Creek after midnight.
The lodge was not believed to be in immediate danger and Thompson said conditions on the very rough access road, including wildfire debris, made sheltering in place the best option.
“Work is being done to make sure everyone can be removed from the area safely,” he said.
The wildfire service website said it was close to lifting evacuation orders covering more than 200 properties around Gun Lake, north of Pemberton, where the 26-square-kilometre Downton Lake fire has destroyed three properties, but because of the incoming wind and potential lightning, those plans had been stalled.
The wildfire service website showed roughly 370 blazes across B.C., including 145 ranked as out-of-control.
The wildfire danger rating has climbed to high or extreme across the southern third of the province and a large section of the central Interior as a heat wave brings sweltering temperatures to those regions.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 16, 2023.
