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September 20, 2017 - 9:14 AM
Some massive progress was made on the Elephant Hill wildfire over the past few weeks, and now impacted residents in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District can breathe a sigh of relief.
The regional district has given the all clear to properties in the area, saying the fire is no longer considered a threat to properties in the district.
As a result, all evacuation alerts in place have been lifted in the area, officials say in a media release.
B.C. Wildfire said yesterday morning, Sept. 19, that the Elephant Hill fire was 85 per cent contained.
A news release from the Cariboo Regional District says with the entire region deemed "all clear," its emergency operations centre will close, effective at noon.
The Regional District of East Kootenay lifted its final evacuation orders and alerts on Monday, three days after the B.C. government rescinded a provincewide state of emergency that went into effect in early July.
Fourteen wildfires of note still blaze within the Southeast, Cariboo and Kamloops fire centres but the wildfire service says cooler weather has allowed crews to make good progress containing flames that have scorched over 12,000 square kilometres of timber since April 1.
An off-road vehicle ban covering central and southeastern B.C. was removed Wednesday but campfire bans in those areas remain in effect until further notice.
More than $510 million has been spent fighting fires that, at the height of the disaster, chased almost 50,000 people from their communities.
Fires are blamed for destroying 509 structures, including 229 homes, and causing financial loss to ranchers, farmers, forestry and tourism operations.
— With files from The Canadian Press
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