Image credit: Cariboo Regional District Emergency Operations Centre

By Marty Hastings

EVACUATION ORDER

Evacuation order issued for Barkerville area

Jul 21, 2024 | 12:25 PM

Update (3:30 p.m. July 21): The Cariboo Regional District has upgraded its evacuation alert for Barkerville to an evacuation order.

As a result, residents are asked to leave the area immediately.

“Due to immediate danger to life safety due to fire, members of the RCMP or other groups will be expediting this action. You must leave the area IMMEDIATELY. Persons who disregard this Evacuation Order and remain in the Evacuation Order area do so at their own risk. Responders may be unable to assist anyone who remains in the Evacuation Order area,” reads a statement from the CRD.

Evacuation route: West on Highway 26 to Quesnel. Evacuees can register at the Quesnel & District Arts and Recreation Centre—Emergency Support Services, 500 North Star Road, Quesnel, BC

Map courtesy: CRD

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WHAT YOU SHOULD DO:

• You must leave the area immediately.
• Gather your family: take a neighbour or someone who needs help.
• Take critical items (medicine, purse, wallet, and keys) only if they are immediately available.
• Take pets in pet kennels or on leash.
• Close all windows and doors.
• Do not shut off your natural gas.
• Close gates (latch) but do not lock.
• Do not use more vehicles to evacuate than you have to.
• Do not use the telephone unless you need emergency service.
• Register with Emergency Support Services (ESS) listed above or online through the Evacuee Registration and Assistance tool. ESS is only available to persons who are required to evacuate from their primary residence.

Earlier: An evacuation alert was issued at noon on Sunday (July 21) by the Cariboo Regional District Emergency Operations Centre for 431 parcels in the Barkerville area.

The alert — due to the potential danger to life and health — covers 62,488 hectares.

Residents will be given as much advance notice as possible prior to evacuation, but may receive limited notice due to changing conditions.

The BC Wildfire Service is responding to the 170-hectare Antler Creek Wildfire, which was discovered on Saturday (July 20) burning about 12 kilometres southeast of the district of Wells in the Cariboo Fire Centre.

Smoke is highly visible from the district of Wells, Barkerville Historic Town and Park and surrounding areas, according to a BC Wildfire Service twitter post on Saturday.

The blaze is displaying Rank 3 fire behaviour, characterized by an organized flame front and a moderate rate of spread with some candling.

Helicopters and airtankers are responding to the incident and heavy equipment has been mobilized to establish access to the wildfire and establish containment lines, according to the post.