1,000 people affected as Wells/Barkerville/Bowron Lake residents evacuated due to large wildfire

An Evacuation Order has been issued for the District of Wells.

Mayor Ed Coleman says it all happened quite quickly.

Coleman says an Emergency Operations Centre has been set up in Wells and at the Rec Centre in Quesnel.

He says there is also an Emergency Support Centre in Prince George at the CN Centre for anybody that wanted to head to Prince George.

Coleman says this is a different fire than the one that led to an evacuation alert earlier in the month.

“The Antler Creek fire grew so we had to put an alert on, and just after we put the alert on it merged with one of the other fires and then it got erratic, so we put the alert on at 12-05 and then I had to put an order on at 2-45. Simultaneously, the CRD did an evacuation for Barkerville and area, and now they’ve done Bowron as well. So this all started at 2-25.”

Coleman says an Emergency Operations Centre has been set up in Wells and at the Rec Centre in Quesnel.

He adds there is also an Emergency Support Centre in Prince George at the CN Center for anybody that wanted to head to P.G.

Coleman says this is a different fire than the one that led to an evacuation alert earlier in the month.

“They’re calling it the Groundhog Lake complex of fire, but the worst one is the Antler Creek, which has now merged with one of the numbered fires and just dangerous, so we had to get everybody out of there.”

Coleman says it is about 5 kilometres or maybe a bit less from Wells and Barkerville.

He says it started at around 4 o’clock yesterday (Saturday) and by 6 o’clock it had already grown to 170 hectares.

Coleman says they aren’t sure how big it has gotten because they haven’t been able to establish a perimeter around it.

He says no homes are being threatened at this time.

Coleman says close to a thousand people have likely been impacted.

“Wells is 218 citizens, but between crown land and businesses and regular houses there are about 340 parcels effected. Then we have the Reduction Road Cariboo Regional District Area, so another 20 to 30 to 40 homes and folks, then we have all the tourists around that, another 650, then we have Bowron, which is anywhere from 60 to 80 residents down there that are under the CRD order, and then the tourists that are down there as well, so when you add it up it’s about a thousand people that have to get out of there.”

With files from George Henderson mycariboonow