The latest on wildfires:
- The Rice Road wildfire near Princeton, BC forced the evacuation of a music festival Sunday night.
- A new evacuation alert has been issued for 85 properties in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District due to the Bush Creek East Wildfire. The affected properties are located along Agate Bay Road, about 70 kilometers northeast of Kamloops.
- The province ended the state of emergency for the Stikine region of northwest BC after one month, rescinding all evacuation orders and alerts for the region.
- TO smoky skies bulletin aired on Monday for For Nelson, the central and southern interior and southeastern BC
- Evacuation orders remain in effect in BC, including at Adams Lake and Gun Lake, and north of Lytton.
- As of 2 pm PT, there are currently 408 active fires in BC, with 16 prominent fires, fires that are highly visible or threaten public safety.
- Learn more about how to find the complete list of wildfires, road closures, and evacuation orders and alerts.
A wildfire near Princeton, BC, forced the evacuation of a music festival attended by about 500 people on Sunday night, according to the city’s mayor.
The BC Forest Fire Service wrote in a social media post that it is responding to the Rice Road wildfire about 7 miles northwest of Princeton.
It says the fire, which is around three hectares in size, roughly the area of six football fields, is visible from Princeton and surrounding areas, but no structures are currently threatened.
Mayor Spencer Coyne said the fire started on Sunday night, prompting RCMP and fire personnel to help evacuate the Music Under the Stars Festival.
“Because of the location of the festival itself, there’s only one driveway, it’s on private property,” Coyne said.
Coyne said thousands of people visited Princeton over the long weekend because various events were taking place in and around the city.
“Fortunately, most people arrived in their RVs or already had other means of accommodation, so when they evacuated, most found somewhere to go,” he said.
Coyne says firefighters told him they are hopeful they can contain the fire, adding that the city saw some rain last night after the festival was evacuated.
Musician Amrit Saggu, who goes by the stage name Saint Soldier, was supposed to perform at the festival with his performance scheduled to start at 9 p.m.
But he said he found out shortly before 8 p.m. that the festival would be evacuated.
“Everyone moved quickly and calmly out of the area,” Saggu said.
Saggu said he got one of the last spots at a local motel, but saw some people who appeared to be camping in nearby parks and parking lots.
“I think some people were bummed out by it all, but they felt good that we were safe,” Saggu said.
State of emergency for Stikine rescinded
Meanwhile, the province on Monday ended the state of emergency for the sparsely populated Stikine region of northwest BC, rescinding all evacuation orders and alerts in the region as “people and structures are no longer at risk.” of forest fires”.
The state of emergency had been in effect for a month, with evacuation orders for areas affected by the Little Blue River wildfire.
The Ministry of Emergency Management and Weather Preparedness wrote in a statement on Monday that danger ratings remain high or extreme in many areas, and people should continue to follow fire bans.
Anyone with an evacuation order must leave the area immediately.
Evacuation centers have been set up across the province to help anyone evacuating a community threatened by a bushfire.
To find the center closest to you, visit the BC Emergency Management website.
Evacuees are encouraged to register with emergency support services online, whether or not they access services at an evacuation center.
Have a story to share?
If you were affected by the BC wildfires and would like to share your story, please email cbcnewsvancouver@cbc.ca.
