KAMLOOPS, B.C. — About 1,600 people in southern British Columbia remain on evacuation alert as fire crews brace for winds to carry in trouble from wildfires in neighbouring Washington state.
Fire information officer Kevin Skrepnek says Grand Forks and Christina Lake residents could be asked to leave at a moment's notice if winds blow embers from the 195-square-kilometre Stickpin blaze across the border into B.C.
That fire is burning about five kilometres south of the border, where 48 firefighters, three officers and four pieces of heavy machinery from B.C. are helping to fight the fires.
The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen has expanded its evacuation alert to now cover 285 homes or properties due to the potential impact of increased winds on the Testalinden Creek Wildfire.
Fire information officer Melissa Klassen says the six-hectare blaze in Myra-Bellevue Provincial Park south of Kelowna is contained but the 150-hectare Little White Mountain fire is not contained, although no structures are threatened.
Rain expected this weekend could help fight the wildfires, and Skrepnek says rainfall warnings may even cover areas such as Vancouver Island and the south coast.
Skrepnek says the province has spent $244 million fighting 1,744 wildfires this year.
