Fire west of 100 Mile House explodes in size, expected to continue to grow

UPDATE, 8 PM:

Five properties have been evacuated as a wildfire west of 100 Mile House is estimated at 380 hectares.

A spokesperson for the BC Wildfire Service said as of 5:30 tonight that 60 firefighters with air support were on scene fighting the blaze.

Cariboo Regional District Chair Al Richmond says five families are affected in the Tatton Road-Abel Lake area.

He says it is called a “tactical” evacuation.

“Not because the fire has moved that far but because spotting fires have caused fires that cause concern for these properties and we have set up an emergency reception area at the curling rink in 100 mile house for folks who are out of their homes at the moment.”

Richmond says no one else needs to be evacuated at this point, contrary to what some people are saying.

Further information on the evacuations can be found on the CRD’s Emergency Operations Facebook page.

Original Story: As of 4 PM, a wildfire discovered Thursday morning west of 100 Mile House has now grown to 140 hectares.

BC Wildfire Service Fire Information Officer Kevin Skrepnek says they, unfortunately, expect the fire to continue to grow.

“We’ve got an extreme fire danger right now across just about the entire Cariboo region, and given the weather forecast, we don’t expect that’s going to be changing anytime soon. Definitely, we’re seeing some winds out there as well so that taken together is leading to some pretty dramatic fire activity.”

Skrepnek says 40 firefighters are on site with more on the way and Watson Lake is being utilized for their aircraft. He adds that RCMP is cutting off public access to some of the roads for safety reasons.

“Nothing I’m aware of that is immediately threatened but certainly the Wildfire Service is in contact with the Cariboo Regional District to see if there is going to be a need for an evacuation alert or order. Those conversations are happening right now, but nothing confirmed at this point.”

The blaze, which is highly visible from 100 Mile House and Highway 97, is suspected to have been human caused.