Pear Lake wildfire sparks new evacuations, severe thunderstorm alerts issued around B.C.

Pear Lake wildfire sparks new evacuations, severe thunderstorm alerts issued around B.C.

Expanded evacuation orders from 2 regional districts now cover nearly 200 properties in total

Officials have expanded evacuation orders related to British Columbia's largest wildfire.

On Saturday, the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District expanded an evacuation order for an area south of the Pear Lake wildfire fire to cover properties near Highway 99 in the Marble Canyon area.

The Thompson-Nicola Regional District also expanded an evacuation order along Highway 99, west of the Highway 97 junction.

The expanded orders from both regional districts now cover nearly 200 properties in total.

Additionally, the Ts'kw'aylaxw First Nation has issued evacuation orders covering several of its reserves.

Hundreds of B.C. wildfire evacuees given the go-ahead to return home

All three governments have also expanded evacuation alerts.

The Pear Lake wildfire has burned more than 1,647 square kilometres, according to the B.C. Wildfire Service, and is responsible for destroying structures on more than 120 properties, mostly in the area around Clinton. The fire is currently most active on its western and southern boundaries.

Environment Canada issued a yellow severe thunderstorm watch for much of the B.C. Interior, Cariboo and Metro Vancouver. Severe thunderstorm warnings have been issued for parts of Vancouver Island.

The department recommends taking immediate cover if a thunderstorm approaches.

The B.C. Wildfire Service said shifting weather patterns could bring dry lightning strikes and high winds across the southern and central Interior on Saturday, along with localized gusts of up to 80 kilometres per hour accompanying some thunderstorms.

"This will increase fire behaviour where fires are already burning and could lead to new wildfire starts," said the service's online dashboard.

New fire sparked south of Kamloops

Crews were called to tackle a new lightning-sparked wildfire in the Jacko Lake area, just south of Kamloops, on Saturday.

By Saturday evening, the fire had grown to 44 hectares (about 0.4 square kilometres) in size and was considered "being held" by the wildfire service, which means it is not expected to spread beyond current boundaries.

The B.C. Wildfire Service has deployed 19 personnel and air crews to the scene.

The wildfire service said on its update page that crews made "good progress" on Saturday and will continue to establish and strengthen containment lines. A Kamloops Fire Rescue crew will work on the site overnight.

As of Saturday evening, there were more than 150 active wildfires across B.C., almost 60 of them classified as out of control.

On Friday, the B.C. government extended a provincial state of emergency related to wildfires until at least Aug. 29.