Forest fire triggers evacuation near Lillooet, B.C.

Fire officials in B.C. have ordered residents of about 25 homes northwest of Lillooet to evacuate on account of a wildfire one of more than a dozen that continue to burn across B.C.

About 50 firefighters and 11 aircraft were fighting the 550-hectare wildfire Monday morning as it moved closer to several buildings in the community on the eastern edge of the Coast Range mountains in southern B.C.

Casey Minhinik, who runs a business in Gold Bridge, said volunteers reported the fire might have startedas an abandoned campfire and then quickly spread through the tinder dry forests.

"It's like September up there right now for dryness, and there's a lot of dead debris on the ground, so within one hour, it covered acres and acres of ground," said Minhinik. "By the evening time, 40 hectares were consumed; overnight, 150. It's just been moving very fast."

The evacuation was ordered for the properties west of Pearson Pond along Gun Lake Road: from the intersection of Tyaughton Lake Road and Gun Lake Road to Lick Creek, approximately 5.5 kilometres to the west, according to provincial officials

There is also an evacuation alert in place for the surrounding areas of Gold Bridge, Tyaughton Lake, Pearson Pond and Gun Lake, which are located about 65 kilometre northwest of Lillooet.

Dry spring fueling blazes

As of Monday morning, there were 14 significant fires burning across B.C.

Adry spring and a prolonged hot spell have created conditions normally found in mid-summer, said provincial fire information officer Allison Couch, and the areas that are showing extreme danger ratings in the province are the Chilcotin region as well as Kamloops, Lillooet, and Revelstoke.

Humans caused 23 of 24 new fires this weekend, and fire officialswarned people heading out in the backcountry to be careful and behave responsibly.

Over the weekend, the Buffalo Creek fire near 100 Mile Housedestroyedtwo homes and several outbuildings. That fire is now under control, and the weekend evacuation order for that area has been lifted.