Firefighters are urging people to prepare for possible evacuation orders and alerts during the coming wildfire season.
In recent years, evacuation alerts and orders have been issued across the province as a result of flooding and wildfires.
Robert Banks, chief of the Princeton Fire Department, said people need to be prepared throughout the year.
He said some recent fires have been close to the community. In addition, atmospheric river events in 2021 and late 2025 also resulted in evacuation alerts and orders.
“People have to understand they should be prepared for everything the community has gone through,” he said.
He explained that an evacuation alert should be seen as a pre-warning, allowing people to prepare to leave, while an evacuation order is a more immediate notice.
Banks said people, especially families, need to make plans in advance in case of an evacuation.
He also said people need to be prepared by keeping their vehicles fuelled in case they need to leave quickly.
“If we lose power, there’s no fuel to be had,” he said.
Other areas in the Southern Interior of B.C. have also had wildfires and floods.
During the summer of 2025, evacuation alerts and orders were issued due to the August Creek wildfire near the Princeton Golf Club. Other Okanagan communities, including Osoyoos and West Kelowna, have also seen wildfires close by in recent years.
In the 2025 to 2026 season, 1,398 wildfires destroyed 886,410 hectares across B.C.
There were 30 communities affected by orders in 2025, with 2,670 people evacuated.
While the Prince George Fire Centre area was hardest hit, other parts of the province also experienced wildfires.
In 2025, the Kamloops Fire Centre experienced a dry summer. Drought conditions elsewhere in the province resulted in large fires and challenging fire suppression, especially later in the season.
In April, B.C. Wildfire Service issued a seasonal outlook. The report stated that moderate drought conditions exist in the northeast region of the province, western parts of the Cariboo Fire Centre and much of the Kamloops Fire Centre.
In addition, above normal winter freezing levels have resulted in record-low snow in valley bottoms, increasing the likelihood of early season grass fires in interior valleys.