A wildfire that started Sunday evening near Williams Lake — a city of more than 10,000 in B.C.’s central interior — has prompted officials to warn some residents to be ready to evacuate.
Earlier on Sunday evening, the city told residents along Mackenzie Avenue to be ready to leave. Later, it expanded the alerts to include residents in the Country Club Boulevard, Fairview Drive, Tolko’s Lakeview Mill, Woodland Drive and all Westridge properties.
According to B.C. Wildfire Service, the wildfire was around two-tenths of a hectare and is classified as out of control, which means it “is spreading or it is anticipated to spread beyond the current perimeter, or control line.”
Mayor Surinderpal Rathor says the fire was discovered at around 6 p.m. PT, but the cause remains unknown. Rathor said people are urged to be ready to evacuate, but there was no evacuation order Sunday night.
Wildfire just sparked in Williams Lake looks like it’s spreading quickly. <br>Winds definitely aren’t helping. <a href=”https://t.co/J0k1L8XWtD”>pic.twitter.com/J0k1L8XWtD</a>
—@careycharlie_
“My request to the community is stay calm, stay off the road. There’s a lot of water tanker travelling, lots of big machine travelling to move things around and don’t come in the way,” Rathor told CBC News.
The city has also issued a notice urging residents to conserve water to ensure an adequate supply for emergency crews.
The fire is in the River Valley area northwest of the city, and is approaching businesses along Mackenzie Avenue, causing some structural damage, although the extent of the damage is not yet known, said the mayor.
We are responding to the River Valley wildfire (C21338), which is estimated at 20 hectares in size within the City of Williams Lake. The wildfire started in the Williams Lake River Valley and the cause is undetermined at this time. <a href=”https://t.co/D1RjHT0aR9″>pic.twitter.com/D1RjHT0aR9</a>
—@BCGovFireInfo
Images and videos shared on social media show water bombers and wildfire crews have been dispatched to the River Valley area.
The wildfire is one of 317 blazes actively burning in B.C. right now, and fire officials say 16 have started in the last 24 hours.