UPDATE 2:00pm – Officials in the North Shuswap say no lives have been lost after the massive 20 kilometre run taken by the Lower East Adams Lake fire on Friday.

But John MacLean with the Columbia-Shuswap Regional District’s Emergency Operations Center told Radio NL it is too early to assess the damage.

“We are aware that there was structure loss in the North Shuswap. We’re working on making it safe so we can go in, do a proper assessment, find out exactly what was and was not lost in the North Shuswap,” he said Saturday morning.

“There are parts of the community that the fire came close to, but didn’t get into.”‘

MacLean says one saving grace is that the bridges which act as the key access and egress points to the area did survive. He notes the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure is assessing their stability.

“There were some folks, when it did come in fast, that got trapped by the fire and cut-off,” he added. “We had some folks that went up the Seymour Arm.”

A number of other residents were evacuated by boat to the South Shuswap and taken to reception centres in Kamloops.

Speaking during a provincial news conference Saturday, Cliff Chapman, the Director of Provincial Operations says the two fires in the area – the Lower East Adams Lake and Bush Creek East fires – are essentially being treated as one bigger fire.

Chapman says the fire which burned through the North Shuswap displayed some “extremely aggressive” behaviour as it took a “significant” 20 kilometre run in under 12 hours on Friday.

“That is a significant fire run for this province, and it was extremely challenging conditions to try to get people out, Chapman said. “I’m thankful that we were able to do that.”

“This fire made a significant run towards the northern end of the Shuswap as well as towards Highway 1, Sorrento and Chase. It did cross Highway 1, which we closed (Friday) evening.”

Gm fam
Driving through little river on the TransCanada highway last night. The fire was just jumping to the south side of the highway as I went through. @Kamscan pic.twitter.com/UrQ2zaiXkW

— Dave – AlpineLifer 💎💎 (@AlpineLifer) August 19, 2023

It is possible the highway will remain closed through most of the weekend as Drive BC isn’t expecting to have an update on the situation until 4 p.m. Sunday, August 20.

People are being to detour using Highway 97 and either Highway 97A or 97B.

Drive BC also says the Upper Arrow Lake Ferry, south of Revelstoke on Highway 23, will be running around the clock until further notice.

One of the most challenging nights: BCWS

The BC Wildfire Service said Friday night was “one of the most challenging nights for first responders” in the North Shuswap.

It says while much lighter winds today and higher relative humidity overnight will help reduce fire activity, high drought levels mean there is still a chance for aggressive fire behaviour today.

“Last night was one of the most challenging nights for first responders, including structural fire departments, search and rescue, wildland firefighters, local governments, and all others involved this summer,” the Wildfire Service said Saturday morning.

“There have been impacts to communities. The BC Wildfire Service is working as hard as possible to facilitate safe access to impacted areas for local authorities to do rapid damage assessments. Information about structure impact will be shared through local authorities as it is confirmed and made available.”

It also said that while heavy smoke in the area is leading to reduced visibility, the growth on both the Bush Creek East and the Lower East Adams Lake fire was primarily to the south driven by winds from the north.

The Bush Creek East fire came south into Skwlax and burned across Highway 1 between Chase and Sorrento. Chase remains on evacuation alert but an order was issued by the Sorrento and Skimikin area on Saturday afternoon.

The Lower East Adams Lake fire is still north of Lee Creek and has not moved into the community at this time. It did move into Scotch Creek though and as far east as north of Celista.

“Impacts to Celista are currently being assessed,” the BC Wildfire Service said. “Operations are assessing all other fire growth; updates will be provided when possible.”

Power remains out for some residents in the area, with expectations that it will take some time to get back online.

For the latest from the Columbia-Shuswap Regional District, go here.

For the latest from the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, go here.