Devastation as wildfires whip through Shuswap, destroying homes and forcing evacuations

UPDATE Aug. 20, 2023:Wildfire fight continues in B.C., with thousands out of their homes and buildings burned to the ground

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Two fast-moving British Columbia wildfires haveburned down blocks of homes, stores and buildingsin multiple communities in the Shuswap region, the B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS)confirmed Saturday.

Residents ofmore than3,500propertiesin the area hadtoevacuateon Friday and Saturday as "extreme fire behaviour" is expected to prompt more evacuation orders in the coming days, according to BCWS and local emergency officials.

"We're still going to have a very active and dynamic day and there's going to be challenges and dangers for our people," saidShuswap Emergency Operations Centrerisk management officer John MacLean.

WATCH| Wildfire burns near highway as resident evacuates near Scotch Creek:

Scenes of destruction as Shuswap region burns in B.C.

1 year ago

Duration 0:43

Hundreds of people have fled their homes, some forever, as flames closed in on the North Shuswap region of B.C.'s Interior, leaving a trail of devastation.

BCWS spokesperson Forrest Tower said northerly winds blew theLower East Adams Lake wildfireinto Scotch Creek and as far east as Celista on the north shore of Shuswap Lake, a popular tourist destination about 150 kilometres north of Kelowna.

Also overnight, the Bush Creek East fire, burning west of Adams Lake, burned into the Skwlax te Secwepemculecwcommunity of Squilax and across Highway 1 between Chase and Sorrento, and began to climb Squilax Mountain on the lake's south shore.

Where evacuees should go

The CSRD is asking those evacuated to go to the evacuation centre atthe Salmon Arm Senior Citizen Centre at 170 5th Ave. SE, or call250-833-3350 for more information.

The receptioncentre for the Thompson Nicola Regional District is atthe McArthur Island Sport and Event Centre, 1655 Island Pkwy. in Kamloops, which is accessible via Chase Creek Road.

All evacuees are also asked to register with the provincial portal.

Highway 1 cut off

The two fires have essentially merged and cut off access to Highway 1, which remains closed, according to the BCWSand Drive B.C.

BCWS could not confirm the number of homes or buildings burned down overnight and said it was still assessing the damage in Celista.

READ MORE ON WILDFIRES:

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• Get the news you need without restrictions. Download ourfree CBC News App.

However, Tower saidthe damage "is quite significant."

"Celista actually was hit worse than Scotch Creek and the fire essentially ran unsuppressed and unmitigated right through that community," he told CBC News.

The fire grew about 20 kilometres in 12 hours, which is among the fastest growth B.C. has seen for a wildfire, Tower said.

Some of the devastation was visible through thick smoke in Scotch Creek on Saturday afternoon.

Between blackened trees and brush, multiple blocks of buildings, including stores and homes, along withvehicles were destroyed and left charred by the flames that had since receded.

Metal hubcaps and debris were strewn in a sparsely forested area close to one building. Parked outside were vehicles without windows ortires.

The Scotch Creek/Lee Creek fire department and community hall building was completely destroyed.

On Friday, the Lower East Adams Lake wildfire prompted severalevacuation orders in the ShuswapLake area in what officials say is an "unparalleled crisis" and the "most devastating" day for fires in the region's history.

The Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD) and First Nations in the area issued evacuation ordersfor the Scotch Creek, Lee Creek, Celista, Magna Bay and Little River areas on the north shore of Shuswap Lake on Friday night.

Those orders expanded to include parts of Sorrento and Skimikin Lakeareas on the lake's south shore Saturday afternoon.

Widfire base camp evacuated, burned

A400-person BCWS base camp evacuated overnight as well, forcing some staff to regroup inKamloops.

Tower says some of the tents were burned Saturday morning but no one was injured.

"I don't know of another time where a 400-person camp was demobilized in three hours ... [about] 50 to 100 people ...had totake down tents and get everyone's personal gear and get all ourlaptops and all that kind of stuff down," he said.

MacLean said 5,700 residents in the region were under anevacuation order as of Friday night, and that number isexpected to grow to 7,000 by the end of Saturday.

Harrowing evacuations

The Scotch Creek and Talana Bay bridges, parts of the main accessrouteto Highway 1, were closed,and Scotch Creek residents were told to evacuate by boat Friday night.

"People could not come out to to the Trans-Canada Highway to get either to Salmon Armor to Kamloops," said MacLean.

He said some people managed to get out thanks to help from a marine search-and-rescue group and "very dedicated and good-hearted volunteers."

The fireforced 135 properties to evacuate in Turtle Valley while residents of Chase and Sorrento were placed on evacuation alert by theThompson-NicolaRegional District.

"It was extremely challenging conditions to get people out," said Chapman on Saturday.

KellyFeatherstone-Schramsaid the mountainside looked like a "wall of fire" as she tried to drive east through Scotch Creek to get to her home in Anglemont on Friday night.

She turned around instead, driving back across the Scott Creek Bridge to take Highway 1 to stay with a friend in Salmon Arm.

"The entire mountainside adjacent to it was engulfed in flames and as I crossed over the bridge they were spraying the bridge with water," said Featherstone-Schram.

"And I knew at that point that as I was leaving, they were not even going to let me go back in."

Her husband is a firefighter battling the blaze in Celista, but the couple'sGerman Shepherd and catare still at their home in Anglemont until he has time to get them.

"I left with pictures and important papers ... but I left the the dog and cat thinking that I would be returningthat night and so my husband is having to fight the fire and ourpets arein the house," she said, emotion rising in her voice.

"It's a really vulnerable feeling whenyou're separated from your family ...I have no way of making sure [my husband] isOK, right?"

Nikki Goyer and herfiancwere someof the lastto drive on Highway 1 near Sorrento on Friday night.

"I was terrified, we were going out for dinner and I got a call from my brother and it's to pick up his wife from Sorrento. She had been ferried over from Scotch Creek," Goyer told Reuters.

WATCH | Witness recalls terrifying drive through wildfire:

'I was terrified': Witness recounts driving through raging B.C. wildfire

1 year ago

Duration 2:50

Nikki Goyer recounts feeling 'terrified' after she and her fiance drove through a raging wildfire on Friday near Sorrento, B.C., to rescue Goyer's sister-in-law who needed evacuating from a town nearby.

"It was scary not long after that, I found that they had closed the highway."

Goyer's brother and nephew stayed behind to protect their home, which was still OK as of Friday night, she said.

Boil water advisory

On Saturday morning, the CSRDand Interior Health issued a precautionary boil water advisory for residents from Sorrento east to the MacArthur Heights area near Blind Bay, due to concerns adequate water treatment is not being met.

Affected residents are advised to boil any water used for drinking, teeth-brushing or food preparation rapidly for at least one minute, add two drops of household bleach per litre of water, or use bottled water.

A little further south, the Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival cancelled the remainder of the event on Saturday morning, citing concern for the safety of attendees, volunteers and the community as a whole.

Wildfires in B.C. have put an estimated 30,000 people out of their homes and more than 36,000on evacuation alert, Premier David Ebysaid Saturday.

The province declared a state of emergency Friday nightover the fires. OnSaturday, it issued an emergency order to restrictnon-essential travel for the purpose of staying in temporary accommodation such as a hotel, motel or campground.