On July 10 the District of Wells declared a state of emergency and ordered the evacuation of an area due to a 70-hectare wildfire five kilometres north of the Jack of Clubs Lake.
The state of emergency and evacuation alert for the majority of the District of Wells was lifted July 15. The evacuation order was rescinded and replaced with an evacuation alert, people who return may have to leave again on short notice. The Cariboo Regional District has also lifted its evacuation alerts on areas around Barkerville.
The CRD warns that people who return to properties that were impacted by fires may have dangerous trees and continue to have poor air quality in the area. The CRD warns its evacuation alert will be put in place again if the situation changes and it is necessary.
Wells spent five days on evacuation alert, with the areas of Eight Mile Lake, Nine Mile Lake and Cornish Lake having evacuation orders during that time.
As of July 15 the fire is still burning. BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) says the fire shows signs of a rank one fire. That means the majority of the area is a smouldering, slow crawling ground fire with no signs of open flames.
BCWS had 72 firefighters working on putting it out and managing the spread July 15. They've created a fireguard by removing potential fuel sources around the perimeter of the fire. Firefighters on the ground are working on extinguishing hot spots within 30 feet of the fire's edge and 50 feet of the fire's edge in the hottest areas.
The number of firefighters working on the Cornish Mountain Fire peaked at 77 on July 13 and 14. They had 52 people on July 12. There are over 90 firefighters working to extinguish fires across the Cariboo Regional District.
The fire experienced minimal growth since it was discovered on July 10 due to the response of the BCWS. The fire is still classified by the BCWS as out of control as of July 15.
BCWS has structure protection crews working to clear combustible materials from around structures and install sprinklers to protect them.
Barkerville and Bowron Lake are operated as usual throughout the evacuation alert The cause of the fire is believed to be lightning and there have been no road closures as a results of the fire. Smoke may be visible from Wells and Highway 26.
Updates on the fire situation can be found at the websites for the District of Wells, BCWS and Cariboo Regional District.
