As crews continue to battle the Antler Creek fire near Barkerville Wednesday (July 24), evacuees renewed their resources for accommodations, meals and other necessities.
The fire has grown to be nearly 15,000 hectares, roughly 50 times the size of Stanley Park, Wells' mayor Ed Coleman told the Observer Wednesday.
"It has erratic behaviour because it's in so many rough mountain areas and valleys and when you get into those valleys the winds are different," Coleman said. "They have got every resource possible on it. Water bombers, helicopters, ground crews in the hundreds, heavy equipment doing fire guards."
Some of the difficulty that comes with fighting the fire is the rocky terrain, which makes creating things like fire guards more difficult, Coleman said. The fire is three kilometres away from both Barkerville and Wells, but crews have been working to reinforce the fuel breaks and put structure protection in place. Coleman said there are a number of firefighters that have set up in those areas to put out any small fires that might spark.
There are security checkpoints ensuring nobody gets into the evacuation zone without a permit and six RCMP cruisers patrolling.
Coleman said the last 28 people at Bowron Lake are expected to be out by the end of the day. He said it's important that only essential people be in the evacuation order zone so crews can focus on the fire first and foremost. Around 1,000 people have been evacuated with 300 residents of the area and 700 tourists who were in Wells, Barkerville, Bowron or in the area enjoying the nature.
Evacuees from the area were at the Quesnel Arts and Recreation Centre to renew the resources they have access to while the order is in place. Initially after the order, residents get three days of access to hotels, food and other resources. Coleman said the Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness approved those services to be expanded for another week of services for evacuees.
Coleman said in spite of the fire, evacuees are in good spirits. He said some people are anxious to return home and have sought permits to get into the evacuation area but once the risks to themselves and fire crews are explained, people tend to accept the need to wait.
He added that he had a meeting with Lhtako Dene Nation Wednesday to discuss the impacts on forestry and come up with a plan for what may be salvageable.
A camp for wildfire crews is being established near the Quesnel Airport. It will be where crews go during their free time while in the region fighting fires.
The Antler Creek fire was discovered July 20, evacuation orders for Wells and Barkerville were put in place on July 21. BC Wildfire Service believes the cause of the fire to be lightning.
