An evacuation order has been issued for all residents of Loon Lake Road, the Loon Lake community, and properties along Highway 97 from the junction with Loon Lake Road to Scottie Creek Road, just north of the community of 16 Mile.
Properties in 16 Mile are not under evacuation order at this time, but remain on evacuation alert.
An expanded evacuation alert for properties in Electoral Area “E” of the Thompson-Nicola Regional District (TNRD) has also been issued. Some 213 addressed properties in Area “E” are now on evacuation alert. These include:
– 3700 to 3480 Little Green Lake Rd;
– Pressy Lake;
– Hihium Lake;
– 6832 to 6784 North Bonaparte Rd;
– 6820 Lost Valley Rd;
– 2345 Blue Goose Rd;
– 280 Eagan-Bonaparte Lake FSR;
– 1605 Boule-Young Lake Rd;
– 5885 Clinton-Upper Loon Lake FSR;
– 4005 to 4460 Hwy 97;
– 1015 to 1044 Cody Road;
– 3876 to 4168 Hills Frontage Rd;
– 4133 to 4201 Mickey Frontage Rd;
– 3880 to 4209 Old Cariboo Rd; and
– 992 to 1016 Ray Rd;
The evacuation orders and alerts were issued on Friday, July 31 by the TNRD in response to the Pear Lake wildfire. As of Friday morning the fire was estimated at 73,217 hectares.
Residents who are included in this new evacuation order should take personal items such as medicine, wallets, keys, important documents, and keepsakes if they are quickly available, as well as grab-and-go bags, and leave immediately. Pets should be transported in kennels/cages or on a leash.
If you need assistance in evacuating, call the TNRD Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) at 250-377-7188 (toll-free 1-866-377-7188).
Evacuees who need to register for Emergency Support Services (ESS), such as accommodation and/or meal vouchers, are being directed to the ESS reception centre at the McArthur Island Sports Complex in Kamloops (1655 Island Parkway). Only those being evacuated from their primary residence are eligible for ESS.
As accommodation might be limited, those who can do so are encouraged to stay with family or friends.
Those who do not require immediate ESS support are urged to make sure they have a BCeID digital ID set up, then create or update a BC Emergency Support Services profile at ess.gov.bc.ca.
On its southeast flank, the Pear Lake fire is pushing into the Rim Lake wildfire, estimated at 3,634 hectares as of Friday morning. The Rim Lake fire is being managed by the Incident Management Team assigned to the Big Bar complex of fires, which includes Pear Lake and the French Bar Creek wildfire, estimated at 29,993 hectares as of Friday morning.
There are currently 208 firefighting personnel, 218 structural protection personnel, 23 helicopters, and 92 pieces of heavy equipment assigned to the Big Bar complex.
Highway 97 is closed between Loon Lake Road and 76 Mile Frontage Road, with no estimated date/time of reopening. For information about highway closures, visit DriveBC.
Earlier on Friday, the TNRD and the Cariboo Regional District issued evacuation orders and expanded evacuation alerts for the north and northeastern portions of the Pear Lake wildfire around Green Lake. Evacuees from that region are being directed to report to the ESS reception centre in Prince George (4249 18th Avenue), as smaller communities (100 Mile House, Williams Lake, Quesnel) do not have the capacity to provide ESS support.
For more information about wildfire evacuations and alerts in the TNRD, visit the TNRD’s Emergency Operations Centre dashboard.
For information about wildfires burning in the province, visit the BC Wildfire Service website.