The Walmart in Williams Lake has joined the growing rank of businesses forced to close over the wildfire situation blazing near the city.

The store posted a sign outside Wednesday advising patrons that the closure was temporary, but necessary because of B.C.'s state of emergency and the current conditions in the region.

Footage taken inside the big box outlet in recent days showed empty dairy cases and meat shelves, as the store suffered from product shortages.

Some staff has already apparently decided to leave the region, not waiting on the official evacuation alert to be upgraded to an official order.

Williams Lake Mayor Walt Cobb says the evacuation alert will remain in place until the fire to the west is under control, which could be a week or more.

"We won't lift the alert until we know the fires are at least under control," he told CTV News.

Cobb said the wildfire situation is affecting the local economy but the priority is keeping people in the region safe.

"We've got people not working, number one. But we'll survive. As long as everyone is OK that's the main thing," he said.

More than 10,000 residents are currently awaiting word from officials about whether they'll have to pack up and leave their homes.

Cobb said that the current weather outlook is better than initial predictions, which has helped avoid evacuation orders.

The BC Wildfire Service said the three major fires around the city are now 40 to 60 per cent contained.

There are currently 183 fires burning across the province of B.C., including 12 that have been sparked in the past 24 hours.

With a report from CTV Vancouver's Breanna Karstens-Smith