Thousands of residents of evacuated B.C. city return home
Digital Reporter
Saturday, July 29, 2017, 5:31 PM - Roughly two weeks after residents of Williams Lake, B.C., a city of 10,000, were abruptly ordered flee as wildfires burned out of control, the evacuees have been allowed home.
The evacuation order has been rescinded for the city and most of the surrounding area, with a few exceptions. The order has essentially been downgraded to an alert, meaning residents who do return should be prepared to evacuate again if a new order is issued.
"Before deciding to return, residents are encouraged to consider that wildfire activity continues in the area, air quality remains poor and the area is still on evacuation alert," a release on the City of Williams Lake website reads.
On July 15, the rapidly-issued order sparked an exodus from the region, with thousands of people driving south on Highway 97 to Kamloops, while those without vehicles were gathered at muster points in the city and bused out.
Global News reports the RCMP have since been patrolling Highway 97, and have set up checkpoints to ensure the evacuees' return is an orderly one. No access is allowed for areas still under evacuation orders.
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Still, hot and dry conditions continue to persist across B.C.'s Interior region, contributing to the ongoing wildfire threat.
As of Saturday, more than 5,000 people remain under an evacuation order.
Cariboo region hardest-hit
A special air quality advisory is still in effect for the Cariboo region where Williams Lake is located, and the region is currently bearing the brunt of the province's ongoing wildfire crisis. Around 57 wildfires larger than 0.01 hectares -- the BC Wildfire Service's minimum threshold for reporting -- were burning in the Cariboo region alone as of Thursday noon, out of more than 130 province-wide. One, known as the Hanceville Riske Creek fire, burning to the west of Williams Lake, has scorched more than 130,000 hectares.
Season-wide, the Cariboo region accounts for a quarter of the 800 or so fires that have burned in B.C. so far, but those fires have burned 288,000 hectares out of around 380,000 hectares province-wide.
With the wildfire crisis still very much present, several other evacuation orders remain in effect in the worst-hit areas.
With files from Daksha Rangan.
