B.C. wildfires: Out of control fires put Central B.C. communities on evacuation alert

Two separate out-of-control wildfires in B.C. have forced officials to issue an alert for a number of communities in the province’s Cariboo region to be ready for evacuation.

The BC Wildfire Service says the Dripping Water wildfire, originally discovered on Thursday afternoon, is the bigger of the two fires and has now grown to cover 150 hectares in an area about 600 kilometres north of Vancouver.

In response, evacuation alerts have been issued by both the Tl’etinqox First Nation Government – located 102 kilometres west of Williams Lake – and by the Cariboo Regional District for the area around the fire.

Meanwhile, the BC Wildfire Service says another blaze – discovered on Saturday morning near Pressy Lake, located about 445 kilometres northeast of Vancouver, has also reached “wildfire of note” status and is threatening 27 addressed properties.

The blaze, dubbed the Lost Valley wildfire, now covers 113 hectares and has forced officials to issue an evacuation alert.