Officials issued more evacuation orders and alerts in the Cariboo Saturday because of the advancing Elephant Hill wildfire.
The mayor of the Village of Clinton has issued an evacuation order for people in the small community northwest of Cache Creek at 4:30 Saturday afternoon. The community had been on evacuation alert since July 14.
An hour later, the Cariboo Regional District placed the North Green Lake Area under an evacuation alert.
Highway 97 is closed but it will remain open southbound to allow residents to evacuate to Kamloops.
The Elephant Hill wildfire was advancing on Clinton, and smoke could be seen pluming from the village.
That fire grew by 70 hectares between Friday and Saturday, according to BC Wildfire Service chief information officer Kevin Skrepnek. As of Saturday afternoon, the blaze was 30 per cent contained.
Skrepnek said the fire was exhibiting aggressive behaviour and its northern and eastern ends.
As of Saturday afternoon, there were 148 fires burning across the province and 4,700 personnel working to fight them, according to Skrepnek.
As evacuation alerts and orders lift, backcountry users collide with firefighters
Evacuees from Cache Creek, 100 Mile House and areas of Williams Lake have been able to go home as wildfires in those regions get more under control. On Saturday, the evacuation alert was lifted for 100 Mile House.
But crews are still working in fires in the area, and Skrepnek says the wildfire service has had issues with people entering active fire zones and disrupting crews working to fight the fire.
Multiple incidents have happened in the Cariboo region, and Skrepnek said most of them involved recreational backcountry users on off-road vehicles and boaters on lakes where aircraft were trying to refill water.
"I don't think they're intentionally trying to impede operations. I think what it could be… is just ignorance of how large these fires are," Skrepnek said, adding they're dealing with fires over 100,000 hectares in size.
Still, Skrepnek wants people to give crews a wide berth.
"The public needs to understand this is an active area and likely will be for the rest of the summer," he said.
Wind could bring smoke to Lower Mainland
While B.C.'s Interior has been ravaged by wildfires this summer, the Lower Mainland has remained relatively unscathed – the closest fire was a small one that broke out at the base of Blackcomb Mountain.
But Skrepnek says Metro Vancouver residents could see the fires' effects next week when winds forecast on Tuesday could bring smoke to the region.
"Air quality and smoke issues could start to occur Tuesday based on the current weather outlook," he said.
