Drone affecting efforts to fight wildfire burning in B.C. Interior, crews say
A wildfire burning south of Lytton in B.C.'s Interior remained out of control Saturday, and fire crews said a drone sighting in the area has hampered their efforts.
The presence of the drone halted air operations on the south side of the fire, according to posts from the BC Wildfire Service on Twitter.
"This activity is extremely dangerous and poses a significant safety risk to personnel," the fire service said in its tweets. "If a drone collides with firefighting aircraft, the consequences could be deadly."
Drone operators must keep their devices away from wildfires, according to the service. Those who fail to stay out of the restricted airspace - which is a radius of five nautical miles around the fire to an altitude of 3,000 feet - can be fined as much as $100,000 and face up to a year of jail time, the wildfire service says.
The George Road fire is burning roughly seven kilometres south of Lytton, adjacent to Highway 1. As of Saturday morning, it was approximately 250 hectares in size, according to the BC Wildfire Service.
The fire is classified as "out of control" and two evacuation alerts have been issued as a result of it.
The Thompson-Nicola Regional District issued an evacuation alert for 10 residences in Electoral Area I (Blue Sky Country). A list of addresses is available on the district's website.
The Lytton First Nation has also issued an evacuation alert for IR 20 Kitzowit, which is located west of the fire. Details on the Lytton First Nation evacuation are posted on the BC Wildfire Service website.
Residents of an area under evacuation alert are advised to be prepared to leave their homes in case it is upgraded to an evacuation order.
According to the wildfire service, the George Road wildfire is believed to be human caused.
A total of 73 firefighters, nine helicopters, three water tenders and two pieces of heavy equipment are battling the blaze.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Competition bureau finds 'substantial' anti-competitive effects with proposed Bunge-Viterra merger
The proposed merger of agricultural giants Viterra and Bunge is raising competition concerns from the federal government.
Douglas DC-4 plane with 2 people on board crashes into river outside Fairbanks, Alaska
A Douglas C-54 Skymaster airplane crashed into the Tanana River near Fairbanks on Tuesday, Alaska State Troopers said.
BREAKING Mounties will not be charged in shooting death of B.C. Indigenous man
Three Mounties in British Columbia will not face charges in the killing of a 38-year-old Indigenous man on Vancouver Island in 2021.
Canada's favourite sport to watch is hockey, survey shows
The 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs have already delivered a fever level of fan excitement in Canada.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
“It's just so hard to let it go. I mean, everyone is telling me, ‘you have to move on,’ but I know someone is not here [anymore]. So I don't know how I will move on." That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.