District to update evacuees as wildfire continues to rage near Clinton, B.C.

District to update evacuees as wildfire continues to rage near Clinton, B.C.

'Our priority is returning residents home as soon as it is safe to do so,' says village

There's still no timeline for hundreds of evacuees to return to their homes, as a wildfire continues to threaten Clinton, B.C., and the surrounding communities.

The B.C. Wildfire Service said Tuesday evening that a cold front and trace amounts of precipitation on the Pear Lake wildfire's north flank had given crews a slight reprieve.

But it said the 668-square-kilometre fire was still challenging containment, and that the area remains extremely dry.

The Thompson-Nicola Regional District has called a virtual public meeting for evacuees to provide them with an update on Wednesday afternoon.

You can only see these fire clouds during huge wildfires

In a Tuesday social media post, the Village of Clinton said it must still assess the safety of roads and bridges along with air and water quality before it can lift an evacuation order.

Officials are still assessing damage and working to restore utilities and emergency services, it added.

"Our priority is returning residents home as soon as it is safe to do so," it said.

'Devastating to lose everything'

Clinton Mayor Roland Stanke said Tuesday that early assessments suggested that while there was some damage, no buildings or businesses in the village itself had been destroyed.

That's not the case south of the village.

"It's devastating to lose everything you've ever had," said Crystal Ann Smith, whose home and metal recycling business were wiped out.

'Devastating to lose everything you've ever had': B.C. wildfire evacuee

"As soon as we saw those flames start coming down over that mountain we were like, OK, [grab] the very most important things," she said.

"Everything is important, but the most important things were our children and our animals, and my husband got our most important parts of our fleet to be able to rebuild, fortunately."

Smith said she's expecting a long wait to return to her property, but that they need to get back as soon as possible if they hope to set up temporary lodging that can withstand the bitter Cariboo winter.

More stories from the B.C. Interior

Hundreds of fires still burning

More than 130 wildfires continue to burn across British Columbia, about 50 of them classified as out of control.

In the Fraser Canyon, Boston Bar and nearby communities remain evacuated due to the Brunswick Creek complex — two fires that cover a combined area of nearly 375 sq. km.

B.C.'s air quality is worsening due to wildfires, report finds

Wildfire officials said Tuesday the Brunswick Creek and Ainslie Creek wildfires remain active on either side of the canyon but are not currently growing at a significant rate.

The Ministry of Emergency Management said about 1,600 properties in B.C. were under an evacuation order early Tuesday, and 3,100 properties were under an alert.