The Shetland Creek wildfire (photo courtesy of the B.C. Wildfire Service)

By Liam Verster

5,000 Hectare Fire

Evacuation Orders issued as wildfires near Spence’s Bridge have merged

Jul 18, 2024 | 11:38 AM

A significant wildfire in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District has led to Evacuation Orders being issued.

Two wildfires, located north of Spence’s Bridge between Lytton and Cache Creek, reportedly grew quickly overnight Wednesday, July 17.

By 10:25 a.m. Thursday the fire was an estimated 5,000 hectares in size, and classified as an Out of Control Wildfire of Note.

“The Shetland Creek wildfire and the Teit Creek wildfire merged yesterday afternoon, so that is now one fire and on the B.C. Wildfire Service App it is now showing as [the Shetland Creek] fire,” Cliff Chapman, the B.C. Wildfire Service’s Director of Provincial Operations, said at a press conference Thursday.

“The decision was made to send an incident management team, this was actually made [Tuesday night], to send an incident management team to that fire. They arrived late last night and were still transitioning in this morning. We also have, heading there right now and onsite, two unit crews and four initial attack crews, somewhere in the neighbourhood of 55 individuals, to support suppression efforts on that fire.”

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The BCWS had also assigned a structure protection specialist and crew, five helicopters for reconnaissance and bucketing, an incident management team, two bulldozers, three excavators, and three water tenders to this fire.

Chapman stated Thursday that there was no indication of any structures being damaged or lost in the fire at the time, with Bowinn Ma, Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness, saying there would be a full assessment of properties and structures when the fire is controlled.

This merging of the two fires resulted in Evacuation Orders being issued by the Thompson-Nicola Regional District and the Cook’s Ferry Indian Band.

“There was a tactical evacuation that occurred last night, that means that community members would have had to leave without any notice,” Ma stated at the press conference.

“That is an extraordinarily stressful for anybody to be in, which is why it is incredibly important for everyone in a potential disaster zone, in an area of the province that is at risk of hazard and unfortunately I have to say pretty much everybody is at risk of some kind of hazard, it’s incredibly important for people to be prepared. To have your emergency grab-and-go kit ready, to have an emergency plan in place for your family.”

Ma added she did not have a specific figure for how many people have had to be evacuated so far, calling the situation “dynamic” and “actively changing.”

Supports for evacuees were being offered in Cache Creek and Kamloops.

With more dry, hot weather in the forecast for the majority of B.C., especially in the Kamloops Fire Centre, Ma and Chapman encourage people be cautious with their activities to prevent wildfires from starting. They added the risk of lightning and strong winds starting and spreading fires persist, and BCWS crews are ready to respond if more fires do ignite.

Anyone who sees a wildfire is urged to report it to the B.C. Wildfire Service toll free at 1-800-663-5555 or by dialing *5555 on a cell phone.