Extreme fire behaviour is expected in the Big Bar complex of fires on Saturday (Aug. 1), with a cold front passing over the Southern Interior and Cariboo regions bringing wind gusts of up to 40-45 km/hr or higher.
As of Saturday morning, the Pear Lake wildfire near Clinton was estimated at 103,921 hectares. The Rim Lake wildfire to the east was estimated at 4,338 hectares, and the French Bar Creek wildfire to the west was estimated at 29,993 hectares.
“The weather systems driving this cold front are likely to be affected by local terrain as they cross the Coast Mountains, making wind directions difficult to forecast,” said BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) in an update on the fires on Saturday morning.
“We suspect the winds will come from the northwest near French Bar, then shift to the southwest. Winds elsewhere in the complex may be from the southwest. There is a chance of thundercells, which may bring erratic winds from various directions.”
Winds are expected to remain strong throughout the day, with the cold front passing through between 2 and 5 p.m., and overnight. BCWS says that “aggressive fire behaviour is likely.”
The wildfire service says that Saturday’s response will be heavily focused on ensuring safety, given the anticipated extreme fire behaviour. Along the northwest corner of the fire, heavy equipment will be establishing contingency lines as fire behaviour allows.
Structure protection crews are working to extinguish spot fires around structures in the Chasm area north of Clinton. Heavy equipment will be working off the east side of Highway 97 and moving north to establish containment lines.
Structure protection personnel are continuing to prioritize work where there is active fire in and around structures, as well as triage and deploy structure protection equipment ahead of the fire where it is safe to do so. This includes, but is not limited to, 70 Mile, Canoe Creek, Meadow Lake Road, Beaverdam Lake, and Green Lake.
Where the fire has crossed Highway 97 east of Clinton it is burning into an old burn scar, which is helping to decrease fire activity and behaviour as fuels are sparse. Crews are working with BC Hydro for necessary work along the Highway corridor where it is safe to do so.
Along the south flank of the fire, where it is burning around the Village of Clinton, structure protection personnel are continuing with structure defence. Crews continue to work on hand and sprinkler lines along fire perimeter around the Village of Clinton.
An evacuation order remains in place for the entire Village of Clinton. The Thompson-Nicola Regional District (TNRD) and Cariboo Regional District (CRD) have multiple evacuation orders and alerts in place due to the Big Bar complex.
Highway 97 remains closed between Loon Lake Road south of Clinton and 76 Mile Frontage Road north of Clinton. Evacuees to the south of the closure are being directed to the Emergency Support Services (ESS) reception centre at the McArthur Island Sports Complex in Kamloops (1655 Island Parkway), while evacuees to the north of the closure are being directed to the ESS reception centre in Prince George (4249 18th Avenue).
Due to the large number of evacuees, and limited capacity in Kamloops and Prince George, evacuees are encouraged to self-register for Emergency Support Services via the province’s Evacuee Registration and Assistance tool at ess.gov.bc.ca.
The TNRD’s Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) can be contacted by phone at 250-377-7188 (toll-free at 1-866-377-7188). For information about evacuation orders and alerts in the TNRD, visit their Emergency Services Dashboard.
The CRD’s EOC can be contacted (toll-free) at 1-866-759-4977. For information about evacuation orders and alerts in the CRD, visit their Evacuation Alerts & Orders page.
The Village of Clinton’s EOC can be contacted at 250-377-6313. Updates and information can be found on the Village of Clinton Facebook page.