Listen to this article
Estimated 4 minutes
The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.
The Brunswick wildfire complex burning near Boston Bar, B.C., continues to rage out of control Friday.
A number of evacuation orders and alerts are in place for nearby communities.
B.C. Wildfire Service information officer Julia Caranci said there has been “very active fire behaviour” over the last several days on the complex, which is now made up of two wildfires on the west and east sides of the Fraser River.
As of 7 p.m. PT Friday, the Brunswick Creek wildfire on the west side was burning at 28.36 square kilometres (2,836 hectares) and the Ainslie Creek wildfire on the east side was burning at 158.47 sq. km. (15,847 ha).
“Where we’ve mainly seen that more substantial and explosive growth has been on the Ainslie Creek fire,” Caranci told CBC’s The Early Edition.
She said the size of the Ainslie Creek fire has been adjusted to a smaller number due to more accurate mapping.
The wildfire service expects to see slightly lower temperatures and higher relative humidity over the next two days, Caranci said, before difficult conditions come back.
“With the heat and dry returning … and the extremely steep and mountainous terrain that we’re dealing with, we can expect to see more vigorous fire behavior when things heat up again in the next few days,” she said.
Crews are working 24 hours a day using night-vision equipped helicopters, according to Caranci.
A section of Highway 1 remains closed between Boston Bar Station Road and Ainslie Road North, according to DriveBC.
The B.C. Wildfire Service said in its provincial situation report Thursday it expects hot and dry conditions to continue in B.C.’s southern regions.
“Hot and dry weather conditions will further dry out available fuels, increasing the likelihood of wildfire ignition.”
Winds are also expected to increase, the service said.
The fires in the Brunswick complex are suspected to have been human-caused, a designation given to any fire not ignited by lightning.
There are currently 17 active wildfires burning in the province.
Reception, support centre open in Shxwhá:y Village
Shxwhá:y Village has opened a reception and support centre near Chilliwack to support evacuees.
Tyrell Williams, emergency response director of Shxwhá:y Village, said her main focus is offering cultural support during an emotional time.
“It kind of makes me heavy-hearted knowing what they’re going through,” she said. “So in my heart, it just gives me the drive to make sure that I can do what I can to just make their lives a little bit lighter right now.”
Daily tea, coffee, snacks and lunch are served at the centre, and there are laundry services at the longhouse, Williams said.
The centre has activities for kids including colouring books, board games and puzzles, and it has held a community dinner.
Williams said cultural support was highlighted as very important when Shxwhá:y Village took in evacuees from Lytton in 2021.
“The amount of support that’s come in is absolutely amazing,” Williams said, noting that the centre runs on donations.
Sherry Andrew, a Boston Bar First Nation member who evacuated from her home this week, said she could see smoke and flames from her house.
“I didn’t have time to really pack anything,” Andrew said. She grabbed precious items — her mother’s ashes, her dog and cat — and a bag of clothes.
Andrew said it was another heartbreaking sight at her son’s place in nearby Boothroyd.
“You could just see the inferno outside his back porch.”
She said the response at Shxwhá:y Village has been very welcoming.
“Everything’s just been amazing. The people are so nice.”
But she is still concerned for her home and community.
“And I’m worried about the elders … to make sure that they’re all taken care of.”
