Wind raises fears that aggressive White Rock Lake fire will spread, as more evacuations ordered

New evacuation orders are in place for people living north and east of the White Rock Lake fire in B.C.'s Interior as fresh winds threaten to fan the blaze by Thursday afternoon.

At 325 square kilometres, the fire north-west of Vernon, B.C., is one of the largest of nearly 300 active wildfires in the province, almost half of which are burning in the Kamloops or Cariboo Fire Centre zones.

A total of 136 firefighters — close to 100 of them from Quebec — are attacking the aggressive burn on all sides with the help of 11 helicopters and 43 pieces of heavy equipment. 

But crews fear winds could feed the flames and move them further north-east. Environment Canada has forecast winds gusting between 25 and 40 km/h by early afternoon Thursday. Rain or lightning is also expected.

Last night the regional districts of Thompson-Nicola and Columbia Shuswap expanded evacuation orders north of the fire, affecting entire communities including Westwold, Monte Lake, Falkland and the Cedar Hill areas.

Residents of more than 270 properties have been instructed to leave.

Evacuation alerts, under which people must be prepared to leave at short notice, remain in place almost as far north as Salmon Arm and Ranchero.

"We are very concerned with the weather right now. It's very dry out there, and with winds and rains forecast, it does bring some lightning with it," said Sandra Follack, who is both Kelowna's deputy fire chief and emergency program co-ordinator for the central Okanagan.

Evacuees are scattering across the Interior, with many heading to Salmon Arm, Vernon or Kamloops. The Okanagan Indian Band is directing evacuees to head to the north end of their reserve at Head of the Lake Hall.

But residents say some people are choosing to stay behind to protect properties.

Stressful move for 100 sheep

Kari Powell and her partner, who run the Whistling Wind sheep ranch about a kilometre from the evacuation zone, say they have spent four days scrambling to relocate 100 sheep to Vernon, including 15 pregnant ewes at risk of miscarrying from the stress. 

"You are never sure how they are going to handle it," said Powell.

The smoke was thick during their hour-long drives southeast through Falkland to Vernon, she said, adding that they can only fit about 30 sheep in their trailer at a time.

"We could barely see 100 yards in front of our truck on certain days," said Powell.

After getting her sheep to safety, Powell said she spent Wednesday night helping a Falkland friend with their three horses and didn't get home until around 2 a.m.

Powell says the stress and smoke are exhausting, with sales trips to farmers' markets now an afterthought as the wildfire crisis becomes all consuming.

"We're kind of on autopilot. We're probably gonna be out there [in Vernon] for a while based on this fire," she said.

Powell says she suspected the fire risk would be unusually high this year when a creek near her ranch that usually flows until August dried up by June. She says she hadn't seen that since the big wildfire season of 2017.

Anyone placed under an evacuation order should leave the area immediately. 

Evacuation centres have been set up throughout the province to assist anyone evacuating from a community under threat from a wildfire. To find the centre closest to you, visit the Emergency Management B.C. website.

Evacuees are encouraged to register with Emergency Support Services online, whether or not they access services at an evacuation centre.