UPDATED: 10:35 p.m.
In an update late Tuesday night, the BC Wildfire Service says the Sparks Lake wildfire has grown again, to 2,300 hectares in size.
That is triple the previous size estimate of 750 hectares this afternoon, and much higher than the estimated size of 350 hectares just 12 hours ago.
There were nine properties put on evacuation order at about 4 p.m., and 150 other properties have now been placed on evacuation alert.
Homes on an evacuation order include 7501, 7560, 7645, 7750, 8088, and 8092 Tranquille Criss Creek Road, 7900 and 8185 Seven Lakes Road and 4000 Leblond Road. Residents at those properties have been asked to check in at the McArthur Island Events Centre in Kamloops.
The properties on evacuation alert are in the Deadman, Red Lake, Vidette Lake and Tranquille Valley areas. Details from the Thompson-Nicola Regional District can be found here.
“It is not a large evacuation at this point, but obviously still significant given that we are requiring these people to move,” TNRD emergency program coordinator Kevin Skrepnek told NL News. “And of course as folks from town can see, the fire activity out there has been quite aggressive today and quite visible.”
These are the first wildfire-related evacuation orders in the Thompson and Nicola region so far this year, and first since 2018.
“Thankfully, we’ve had a few quiet seasons, but obviously its shaping up to be otherwise for 2021,” Skrepnek added.
The Sparks Lake fire broke out late Monday afternoon northwest of Kamloops, and smoke has drifted through Kamloops and surrounding areas. Fire activity was quiet this morning, but early Tuesday afternoon there appeared to be serious growth at the blaze, as a huge plume of smoke started to build at the fire. A wall of smoke can be seen in all of the surrounding areas.
The fire is burning out of control and it is suspected to be human caused. The BC Wildfire Service says it is manning the blaze 24 hours per day and will have 20 wildfire personnel on scene overnight tonight.
The Sparks Lake blaze was one of 22 wildfires that sparked up on Monday across the province. Nine of those were lightning-caused in northern B.C., while the other 13 were human-caused in the southern half of the province.
This fire activity comes as the fire danger rating is extreme in most of the Kamloops area, and is now extreme in the majority of B.C.
(Photo: BC Wildfire Service)
– With files from Victor Kaisar