One man was killed by a falling tree and his common-law wife was seriously injured inside a wildfire evacuation zone near Williams Lake, B.C.
The Cariboo Regional District says that the couple, living in the evacuation zone near a wildfire in Meldrum Creek, about 15 kilometres west of William Lake, were involved in two "accidents" on Sunday afternoon.
The district says that the couple had refused to leave the evacuation area.
"Not only did the residents put themselves in a very unfortunate situation, but as a result, the emergency responders and stretched resources were also put at tremendous risk," the district said in a press release.
But RCMP say that the 52-year-old man and his partner were on their way out of the area, in compliance with the evacuation order, when they decided to cut down a tree for firewood.
Police are now investigating the incident, and the district has warned that people who refuse to leave the evacuation area will not be rescued in case of an emergency.
An estimated 53 people have chosen to ignore an evacuation order issued Wednesday for the 3,000-hectare wildfire.
The fire is believed to have been caused by lightning.
A total of 1,148 wildfires have been reported since April 1 across B.C., burning 664 square kilometres.
As of Monday, 86 active fires measuring more than 10 hectares in size were burning across the province.
