Evacuation order near Lillooet Lake expanded as B.C. wildfires continue to burn
The Squamish-Lillooet Regional District has expanded an evacuation order due to an out-of-control wildfire burning near Lillooet Lake.
The expanded order, issued late Thursday, covers 16 addressed properties, along with Lillooet Lake Estates, Heather Jean Properties and the Strawberry Point recreation site.
The order is due to the Twin Two Creek wildfire, which was first spotted on July 17, and has grown to more 28 square kilometres in size.
Keep up with the latest wildfire information at The Weather Network's wildfire hub.
Across B.C., more than 30 evacuation orders are in place, as about 125 wildfires continue to burn.
The largest of those remains the Pear Lake wildfire, which has prompted the evacuation of Clinton, 70 Mile House and hundreds of surrounding properties.
As of Thursday night, that fire had scorched more than 732 square kilometres.
Late Thursday, the Village of Clinton issued an update saying it had completed "rapid damage assessments" within the townsite, and informed all property owners affected by "major structure loss."
"It has not yet been safe enough to complete 'boots on the ground,' in-depth assessments of these areas, so properties that have suffered minor damage may not have been notified at this point," it said.
"Please know, the current situation remains unstable due to ongoing fire activity and further property damage may still happen as the situation progresses."
As of Thursday morning, there were about 1,600 properties across B.C. under evacuation orders, and another 3,000 under alert.
In a Thursday update, the B.C. Wildfire Service said widespread warming and drying conditions were expected to continue through the long weekend, particularly in the southeastern parts of B.C., raising the wildfire risk.
It added that more out-of-province wildfire crews were expected to arrive in the coming days to assist in the firefight.
This article, written by Simon Little, was originally written by published for CBC News