Originally estimated at just 2 hectares, a wildfire discovered Thursday morning west of 100 Mile House has now grown to 140 hectares as of 4 pm.
BC Wildfire Service Fire Information Officer Kevin Skrepnek says they, unfortunately, expect the fire to continue to grow.
“We’ve got an extreme fire danger right now across just about the entire Cariboo region, and given the weather forecast, we don’t expect that’s going to be changing anytime soon. Definitely, we’re seeing some winds out there as well so that taken together is leading to some pretty dramatic fire activity.”
Skrepnek says 40 firefighters are on site with more on the way and that Watson Lake is being utilized for their aircraft.
He adds that RCMP is cutting off public access to some of the roads for safety reasons.
“Nothing I’m aware of that is immediately threatened but certainly the Wildfire Service is in contact with the Cariboo Regional District to see if there is going to be a need for an evacuation alert or order. Those conversations are happening right now, but nothing confirmed at this point.”
The blaze which is highly visible from 100 Mile House and Highway 97 is suspected to have been human caused.
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