ROCK CREEK, B.C. — Hundreds of people have been forced from their homes and campsites by an aggressive wildfire in B.C.'s Boundary region.
The Rock Creek fire just north of the U.S. border, about 50 kilometres east of Osoyoos grew significantly overnight and is now about 25-square kilometres.
The fire was sparked Thursday afternoon and within hours had forced the evacuation of more than 200 properties, hundreds of campers at a provincial campground, and had cut off highways 3 and 33 just north of Rock Creek.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
An evacuation order has also been issued for 10 properties near another fire east of Osoyoos. That blaze has been burning east of Oroville, Wash. and jumped the border Thursday, threatening the Canadian properties.
Rob and Mary Hardy were chased from their home in Westbridge, north of Rock Creek, when the flames began to encroach.
"Literally the tree tops were bursting like bombs and falling down on the top of our house," Rob Hardy told media outside of the Salvation Army Kelowna Community Church, which has been turned into an evacuation centre.
"The wind was just carrying (the embers) for miles and miles. I've never experienced, I've never seen anything like it."
The Hardys made the difficult decision to let their horses run into the wild with the hope of saving them and the concern they may not seem them again.
Rob Hardy said he opened the gate and let the animals go down the Trans Canada trail.
"Oddly enough, they actually went towards the fire at first, which I think they were just very confused. Once we got them turned around, they just took off for the river. That's the last I saw of them."
About 200 campers were hurried out of Kettle River Provincial Park Thursday evening, forced to abandoned all their belongings as they boarded buses to evacuation centres.
Fire Information Officer Fanny Bernard said there were many vehicles, trailers and RVs left behind.
Bernard could not confirm that the blaze had destroyed homes, but RCMP in the area have said several vehicles and RVs at the Kettle River provincial campground have burned, along with some nearby residences.
Fire crews were busy with structural protection overnight, Bernard said.
Sixty firefighters are battling the blaze, joined by three initial attack crews, four officers, helicopter support and three air tankers in an effort to corral the uncontained flames.
Bernard said Friday's weather forecast may not be good news for firefighters.
"Any time there's lightning cells and thunder cells it's usually accompanied by a gust of wind, so that would not be good news for fire behaviour," she said. "However, if this system is accompanied by precipitation, that would be good news."
