WILDFIRES – Evacuation ordered in Loon Lake; Village of Clinton on alert

A new evacuation order and two new evacuation alerts were declared Friday night (July 14, 2017) as the B.C. Interior headed into a weekend of uncertain weather.

The evacuation order was issued for a large number of properties at Loon Lake and south of Clinton due to the rapidly moving wildfire in the area.

The order covers 376 addresses, with residents advised to travel south along Highway 97. They were to be escorted through Cache Creek and then continue east to Kamloops on Highway one.

One alert was for the entire Village of Clinton and another for seven addresses in a large area south of Clinton.

With gusty winds in the weather forecast for the weekend, the BC Wildfire Service encouraged people to remain vigilant and avoid going into the backcountry to reduce the risk of human-caused wildfires.

The wind may also cause increased fire activity and smoke visibility in areas near wildfires.

The Kamloops Fire Centre is currently experiencing hot and dry conditions with elevated fire danger ratings. The fire danger rating is “high” to “extreme” throughout the region.

As of noon on Friday there were 164 wildfires burning in B.C.