A B.C. Wildfire Service helicopter drops a bucket of water on the Embleton Mountain wildfire near Sun Peaks.
Image Credit: TWITTER/B.C. Wildfire Service
July 20, 2021 - 8:18 AM
Seven more properties have been evacuated as the Embleton Mountain wildfire west of Sun Peaks expands south.
A shift in wind and dry conditions caused the wildfire to move south, leading the Thompson Nicola Regional District to order the evacuation of seven Heffley Lake properties just before 9 p.m. yesterday, July 19.
The Embleton Mountain wildfire is estimated to be 604 hectares in size, according to the B.C. Wildfire Service. It was discovered seven kilometres west of Sun Peaks on July 9.
Crews were expected to complete hand ignitions on July 19, which would expand fire guards as the wildfire continued to move downslope to the west and northwest.
Dry conditions deemed it unsafe to complete any "significant amount" of hand ignition, according to the wildfire service.
Instead, as the blaze moved south last night, it breached the fire guard and the wildfire sent 40 additional firefighters, three helicopters and air tankers to contain the excursions.
The regional district also ordered the evacuation of 28 additional properties from the Westwold area as the White Rock Lake wildfire expanded northeast yesterday afternoon.
Winds through the valley caused the blaze to move reach beyond the mapped boundary, but fire activity did calm, giving structural protection crews time to assess properties in the area, according to the wildfire service.
The 28 properties ordered to evacuate from the White Rock Lake wildfire, which is southwest of Westwold, were in addition to the 13 already ordered on July 18.
The White Rock Lake wildfire was most recently estimated to be around 3,000 hectares on July 19, according to the wildfire service.
There are now 20 evacuation orders and 26 alerts ongoing in the Thompson Nicola Regional District.
Go here for more information from the Thompson Nicola Regional District.
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