Historic Barkerville now under evacuation order due to Antler Creek Wildfire

An evacuation alert for the historic gold rush town of Barkerville has been upgraded to an evacuation order as of 3:48 p.m. July 21 due to wildfire. 

An evacuation order has now been issued by Cariboo Regional District (CRD) Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) for 431 parcels in the Barkerville area.  The alert covers 62,488 hectares and includes the Barkerville Historic Town & Park.

The historic town had already closed their gates to tourists for the day due to wildfire smoke and firefighting vehicles and equipment moving around on site to install structural protection sprinklers.

The Antler Creek wildfire to the south of Barkerville is estimated at 1,350 hectares and is currently subject to hot, dry, windy conditions and is displaying extreme fire behaviour.

An evacuation order has also been issued for the Bowron area, including part of Bowron Lake Provincial Park, Sunday, July 21 due to the Antler Creek wildfire. 

The Cariboo Regional District Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) issued the order at 4:45 p.m. for 33 parcels covering 30,567 hectares to the east of Wells.

An alert had been issued for the area at 12 p.m. on July 21.

Due to immediate danger to life safety due to fire, members of the RCMP or other groups will be expediting this action. People are advised they must leave the area immediately.

Anyone remaining in the area do so at their own risk and responders may not be able to assist them.

The evacuation route is to head West on Highway 26 to Quesnel, where an Emergency Service Centre (ESS) has been set up at the Quesnel and District Arts and Recreation Centre, 500 N. Star Rd., Quesnel B.C.

A smoke column from a nearby wildfire has been visible from the historic town throughout the day.

The Bowron Lake Provincial Park is not included in the order area.

There are currently 11 fires in the area on the BC Wildfire map.

WHAT YOU SHOULD DO:

You must leave the area immediately. Gather your family: take a neighbour or someone who needs help. Take critical items (medicine, purse, wallet, and keys) only if they are immediately available. Take pets in pet kennels or on leash. Close all windows and doors. Do not shut off your natural gas. Close gates (latch) but do not lock. Do not use more vehicles to evacuate than you have to. Do not use the telephone unless you need emergency service.

You will need to sign up for the BC Services Card app to access the self-registration tool, which will reduce wait times for evacuees and assist in the referral process. https://ess.gov.bc.ca/ Further information will be issued as it becomes available. Please visit the CRD Emergency Operations Facebook as well as the CRD website at cariboord.ca/EOC. For more information contact the CRD's emergency information line at 1-866-759-4977 (8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. daily).

Residents are encouraged to register for the Cariboo Chilcotin Emergency Notification System to receive a text, call or email regarding Evacuation Alerts and Orders.