The manager of b. C. resort says’ biggest shock ‘ is how quickly wildfire approached its site

Vancouver-the manager of an evacuated resort near the Ross Moore Lake Fire in inland British Columbia said he couldn’t believe how quickly the fire grew over the weekend.

Jason Upton, manager of Lac Le Jeune Nature Resort south of Kamloops, fled to nearby Merritt with four members of staff after the fire came within a few kilometres of the property on Sunday.

Upton said he had kept track of the fire because it was too close to the resort and thought he was outside on Sunday morning when he saw very little smoke.

But a few hours later, Upton and his staff rushed in as the apparent flames approached.

“I would say the only thing that was really the biggest shock from this whole experience was how fast it could happen and move,” he said. “I never expected it to move so fast.”

The resort, which offers lodging on the lake, only reopened this spring after a 3-1/2-year pandemic shutdown, upton said.

The fire, located about 20 kilometers south of Kamloops, B. C. it was discovered on Friday afternoon and is about 18 square kilometers in size.

The fire, which has been fanned by strong winds, is one of nearly 500 active fires across BC, an increase of about 100 in recent days.

For the first time in more than a month, showers and cooler weather were reaching dry parts of the province on Monday, including Vancouver Island and Metro Vancouver, where Environment Canada expected about 20 millimeters of rain.

But showers were most visible around Kamloops, with high temperatures forecast to return in the middle of the week.

The fast-growing Ross Moore Lake forced Sunday’s evacuation of 344 properties in the area of Lac Le Jeune and Long Lake Road.

Thompson-Nicola Regional District Information Officer Colton Davies said that in addition to evacuation orders, 127 other properties are on evacuation alert and residents should be prepared to leave at short notice.

Davies said smoke from the Ross Moore Lake fire is “extremely visible” from both the Coquihalla Highway and Highway 5A, and strong winds blowing northeast hastened the fire’s growth spreading smoke over Kamloops and other communities.

“When you are after the fire near the exit Lac Le Jeune (Sunday), it was a clear blue day,” he said of the smoke situation. “But Kamloops was very full of smoke, and other areas in that direction would be too.”

Farmer Doug Haughton told CHNL radio that the Ross Moore Lake Fire “exploded like a ball” over the weekend, and he worked all day Sunday to evacuate his animals from the approaching fire.

Haughton, who is also the director of Thompson-Nicola Regional District L constituency, said while he was lucky to get all his animals to safety, some of his neighbours “have been hit very, very hard.”

“It’s not much up there,” Haughton said of the fire. “Just looking out at kamloops downtown, it’s nothing short of ugly butt.”

Davies said the region’s high temperatures and low humidity created an environment for the fire to spread quickly over the weekend, and the threat is continuing despite temperatures easing slightly on Monday.

“We don’t expect it to be as hot today, but it’s still summer in the southern Interior,” he said. “And we expect, just looking at the forecast, more winds today, which is never ideal for fire situations.”

The fire danger rating is high to extreme across South B. C. including around Cranbrook, where a week-long fire has burned 40 square kilometres, forcing evacuations and warnings for hundreds of properties.

Eastern Kootenay Regional District Emergency Operations Information Officer Loree Duczek said residents of 16 homes in the AQ’am First Nations community were able to return after an evacuation order was cancelled, but those residents remain on alert.

In total, 677 homes in the area remain on alert for possible evacuation, while 51 homes are under an evacuation order.

As of Monday, the fire service is reporting 481 active fires across the province, with 274 classified as out of control.

In total, British Columbia has seen 1,463 fires to date in 2023, burning just under 15,000 square kilometers of land.

This report by Canadian Press was first published on July 24, 2023.

The Canadian Press