More Fire Evacuees Going Home

Update: 2 pm:

Residents of the 100 Mile House area impacted by wildfires, are the latest to be taken off evacuation order.

“An area from the North end of Lac La Hache through to the entirety of the District of 100 Mile House within the Cariboo Regional District has been identified as having a reduced fire risk which allows residents to return to the area,” says a release from the Cariboo Regional District.

The area has been reduced from an Evacuation Order to an Evacuation Alert.

Please refer to the map available on the Cariboo Regional District website to see the specific area that has been downgraded: http://bit.ly/2tQx3cM

While residents are able to return to the 100 Mile House and surrounding area, nearby locations remain on evacuation order and security will be in place to enforce the order in those areas.

Wildfire remains active in the area, and an evacuation order area to the northwest of 100 Mile House has been expanded.

1 pm story

More fire evacuees in BC are being allowed to go home.

Residents of the Princeton area forced out two weeks ago by a wildfire have had their evacuation order lifted as of 10 am today.

The Princeton fire is listed at 3,300 hectares and 100% contained.

Those residents will still be on evacuation alert.

Seventeen homes on the southern end of Summers Creek Road remain evacuated due to unstable rock slopes and the danger of falling trees.

CBC News reports Williams Lake residents evacuated a week ago due to the threat of the White Lake fire could be allowed to start returning home by next week, depending on getting services like hydro, hospital emergency and groceries back up and running.

The entire city of Williams Lake, about 10,000 people, was evacuated last Saturday.

Navi Saini, information officer with the BC Wildfire Service, told the daily fire update, there are 161 fires burning, with 14 new fires on Friday.

“Thirteen of these fires were lightning caused and one was human caused (in the Cariboo),” said Saini.

There have been 730 fires since April, with 361,802 hectares burned, costing $122 million.

Over 38-hundred fire fighters and other personnel are working on the fires.

Saini says moderate wind is expected Saturday, with the risk of thunderstorms this evening. For Sunday, windy conditions are expected across the south.

The Gustafson fire is 5700 hectares and 90% contained, Hanceville 132,351 and 0%, White Lake is 8107 and 10%.

Wildwood is 13,215 with no mention of containment, and Elephant Hill, formerly the Ashcroft Reserve, is 58,363 and 30% contained.

Chris Duffy from Emergency Management BC says about 44,000 fire evacuees have registered with the Red Cross.

He says there are 52 evacuation orders in place along with 39 evacuation alerts.

Duffy was not aware of how many residents of Princeton were impacted by today’s lifting of the evacuation order.