The closure of Highway 5 between Hope and Merritt due to wildfire continues Friday morning, as flames also spread near one of the other two main routes from the Lower Mainland into B.C.’s interior.
The Turnbull Creek fire is visible from Highway 3 in Manning Park.
The BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) says it is ‘out of control’ and continues to spread, covering 7.5 square kilometres north of the highway.
In a Thursday afternoon update, BCWS said the “fire has grown considerably in the past two days, mainly to the northeast and the west.”
“The fire is approximately [two kilometres] away from Highway 3 but does not pose a threat to the highway at this time. Growth has mainly been away from the highway.”
Highway 3 between Hope and Princeton is one of the two main routes open into the interior at the moment.
The Coquihalla Highway remains closed because of a fire that has jumped over the highway and spread rapidly over the past two days.
The Mine Creek Fire near the Coquihalla summit covers almost 20 square kilometres as of the last update Thursday.
Thursday evening, the Fraser Valley Regional District issued an evacuation order covering the Coquihalla Lake Lodge and Coquihalla Summit Snowmobile Club.
That is in addition to the evacuation of a property near Juliet Creek ordered Wednesday evening by the Thompson-Nicola Regional District.
An evacuation alert covers dozens of properties over a larger area, including the community of Brookmere.
Highway 1 through the Fraser Canyon remains open as a smaller, 111-hectare fire along the Fraser River near Sailor Bar is being held.
source: CityNews photo: BC Wildfire Service
