Parts of Christina Lake, B.C., evacuated due to out-of-control wildfire

By The Canadian Press on September 29, 2024.

Parts of a British Columbia Interior community is under tactical evacuation due to the threat of a nearby wildfire. A firefighter directs water on a grass fire burning in Kamloops, B.C., Monday, June 5, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

CHRISTINA LAKE, B.C. – Parts of a British Columbia Interior community is under tactical evacuation due to the threat of a nearby wildfire.

The Regional District of Kootenay Boundary says the evacuation is underway at Christina Lake in and around Brown Road, Caitlin Road and Kensington Place.

Residents evacuated from the area are asked to go to the parking lot of the Christina Lake Community Hall and wait for volunteers for assistance.

The BC Wildfire Service says the out-of-control blaze near the evacuation zone is located at Spaulding Creek near Highway 3, and the cause is still under investigation.

Christina Lake is located about 21 kilometres east of Grand Forks, B.C., where another tactical evacuation took place days earlier due to the spread of the Goosmus wildfire from Washington state.

The evacuation order and alert there have both been lifted after fire crews brought the Goosmus blaze under control.

The wildfire service said in its last update on Sept. 26 that seasonal fall weather in recent weeks have “decreased wildfire risk,” resulting in open fire bans being lifted from some regions.

The service says there are about 183 active wildfires burning in B.C., with only 18 of them – or 10 per cent of the total – classified as out of control.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 29, 2024.