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Wildfire officials in British Columbia are urging people to follow evacuation orders, after they say crews were forced to rescue a resident who had stayed in a fire zone.
The incident happened near Chasm, about 20 kilometres north of Clinton, where fire crews are battling the massive Pear Lake wildfire.
B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) incident commander Bryce Moreira said when crews approached the resident’s property Tuesday evening and informed him that staying in the area was dangerous, they were told to leave.
“I won’t repeat exactly what he said, but it was not [in] a nice way, and quite explicit,” Moreira said.
“The crews left, continued the work they were doing, and then later they were called and asked to go back because this person’s property was surrounded by fire and they were not able to get out.”
Moreira said the firefighters and the resident were able to get out of the area safely.
But he said the incident put everyone in danger, and pulled the firefighters away from duties protecting other properties.
The incident came the same day the union representing B.C. paramedics issued its own statement about people defying evacuation orders.
Doing so, the Ambulance Paramedics of B.C. said, puts first responders in danger, while also straining the health-care system.
“Every unnecessary rescue diverts valuable emergency resources away from patients and communities who may urgently need them,” it said.
No timeline for return
Evacuation orders remain in effect for about 1,600 properties in B.C., with another 3,000 under evacuation alerts.
The lion’s share of those are related to the 732-square-kilometre Pear Lake fire which has forced residents of Clinton and nearby communities to flee, and which spurred fresh evacuations on Wednesday.
Wildfire officials said Wednesday the fire had grown to the north, and was within five to six kilometres of 70 Mile House.
Radio West10:10Clinton residents to learn in coming days if their homes survived Pear Lake wildfire
Roland Stanke, the mayor of Clinton, says the wildfire damaged critical infrastructure, including the hydro transmission system and says the area’s watershed and reservior. He adds there is no timeline, yet, for when people can return home.
The Thompson-Nicola Regional District held a virtual information session for residents on Wednesday where Clinton CAO Brian Doddridge said the area’s watershed has been “severely damaged.”
Clinton Mayor Roland Stanke told CBC’s Radio West that the village is still assessing damage, and will inform residents directly if their property has been affected.
Power remains out in the community and crews are still dealing with embers and hotspots from the wildfire which continues to burn nearby, Stanke said, adding there was no firm timeline for residents to return.
“I would probably say it would be at least another week before we could even look at it,” he said.
The BCWS has warned that persistent heat, drought and wind are likely to cause wildfires across B.C. to grow this week.
As of Thursday morning, there were close to 130 wildfires burning in B.C., about 40 per cent of them out of control.
Those include fires in the Brunswick Creek complex that forced the evacuation of Boston Bar, but which have not grown significantly in days.
On Wednesday evening, the community of Logan Lake issued an evacuation alert for 49 properties due to the new 88-hectare Guichon Creek fire.
