Wind, dry heat fuelling wildfires across B.C., with little sign of relief in forecast

Dry, warm weather and windy conditions across British Columbia are creating the perfect conditions for wildfires this week. 

Environment Canada says little precipitation is in the forecast throughout the province, and temperatures are expected to keep climbing into next week. 

In northeastern B.C., the Donnie Creek wildfire has grown to 1,684 square kilometres and triggered more evacuation orders from the Peace River Regional District on Tuesday. 

They include: 

• The area north of Grewatsch Creek on PDR 222.
• The area north of Kilometre 44 on Tommy Lakes Road.
• To the junction of Horse Range Creek and Sikanni Chief River.
• Northeast along Sikanni Chief River to the Peace River Regional District.
• The area north of Kilometre 20 on PDR 204.
• North to the border with the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality.

The neighbouring Northern Rockies Regional Municipality rescinded a previous evacuation order but issued a new alert for properties bordering the Klua Lakes wildfire, which is burning several kilometres north of the Donnie Creek blaze and is considered part of the same fire complex. 

Meanwhile, on Vancouver Island, a wildfire burning out of control near the community of Sayward grew to around 1.6 square kilometres Wednesday. That fire, dubbed the Newcastle Creek fire, has blanketed much of the area in smoke. 

Mayor Mark Baker says the wind is currently blowing the fire away from the community, which lies about 200 kilometres northwest of Nanaimo, and no structures are threatened at this time.

"The smoke and the plumes are quite visible," he told On The Island host Gregor Craigie on Wednesday morning. 

"Depending on where you are in the valley, you could see the flames."

Baker says people with severe respiratory illnesses are being asked to either shelter in place or leave the community due to the smoke. 

"Some have taken off to friends and families and other parts of the island to avoid it because we're going to have this smoke for a while," he said.

The Newcastle Creek fire is suspected to be human-caused. 

Some residents pre-emptively leave

Even though an evacuation order has not been issued due to the Newcastle Creek fire, some residents of Sayward — a village of just over 300 — have already packed their bags and left.

Jamie Pond says her husband first noticed an odd golden glow on Monday morning. When she looked out of the window on the other side of her house, she saw smoke "billowing" and the red glow of the fire.

"We woke up, and we were coughing, and, you know, we felt sick," she told Jason D'Souza, the host of CBC's All Points West. "We had headaches, our eyes were sore, and it was from the smoke.

"When we went outside, there was a fine ash coming down all over, like a really light spring rain almost." 

Pond and her husband decided to proactively evacuate to their workplace on Gilford Island, a few hours away by boat. She says she was lucky they had the option to evacuate and that she felt for her neighbours who had to stay put in Sayward and wait for any orders.

The Sayward resident said she had recently returned from Nova Scotia, which is dealing with its own out-of-control fires.

"I hope they're not following me around, but holy cow, it sure indicates climate change," she said. "And, you know, it just feels like Canada's on fire."