Emotions running high as wildfires threaten B.C. towns

As the province enters the heart of wildfire season, British Columbia communities threatened by flames are under extreme stress and facing a range of emotions with the uncertainty of whether they’ll have to flee their homes, and whether they’ll have anything to come back to.

When a surprise fire broke out on the outskirts of Williams Lake, damaging an industrial building, municipal fire crews and provincial wildfire teams raced to the scene of what has been named the River Valley fire. It’s holding steady at 40 hectares, but still classified as out of control.

Mayor Surinderpal Rathor found it hard to describe what he felt watching the aircraft dropping round after round of rust-red fire retardant on buildings a stone’s throw from homes as Mounties undertook tactical evacuations late Sunday afternoon.

“It's hard to explain, my friend, what was going through mind,” he said in a virtual interview with CTV News. “Devastating is the only word I can think of when I see that – in 50 years of residence in the community, I've never seen any fire that aggressive.”

Hours south of his community, some 50 kilometres of the Trans Canada Highway was shut down due to the Shetland Creek blaze, with growing wildfire evacuations for communities in the Fraser Canyon.

“It’s been very stressful, this is our third major fire since 2017 and the third time the village has gone on alert,” said Ashcroft mayor, Barbara Roden. “We just have to cross our fingers and hope we stay out of danger.”

Her fire chief, Josh White, has been on high alert along with his team, and has been deeply impressed by the “magnificent job” the BC Wildfire Service has been doing keeping the flames away from their community.

For evacuees, the kindness of neighbours and strangers alike has offset the anxiety of running for their lives and not knowing when they can return.

“It's like an emotional roller coaster and you're up, you're down,” said Nandini Villeneuve, who was forced from her home on Friday. “As we left looking behind, it was just flames everywhere.”