Mount Baldy residents under evacuation can come home for a few hours Thursday morning, Aug. 12, if weather conditions hold.

Frances Maika, spokesperson for the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary (RDKB), said Wednesday that the BC Wildfire Service is expecting an early morning window where the Nk’Mip wildfire will be calm enough for people to make short trips home.

READ MORE: Evacuation orders fall across West Boundary

READ MORE: RDKB orders evacuation of Area E homes, as Nk’Mip Creek wildfire rages

One person per full-time household will be allowed to come home between 7 and 11 a.m., when Maika said they could “take care of essentials.” This does not extend to part-time residents or people who own vacation properties or whose homes were vacant before the fire, she said.

Anyone who wants to come back is asked to pre-register by calling 1-888-747-9119.

Maika stressed that the window is tentative. “If we wake up tomorrow morning and fire conditions aren’t ideal, then we’ll have to cancel,” she qualified, adding that, “Safety is paramount — always.”

One-hundred and twenty-three properties across the West Boundary’s Area E remain under evacuation, with another 34 still under evacuation alert.

The Nk’Mip wildfire is still raging out of control in the neighboring Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen, where the fire has spread to an estimated 17,469 hectares as of Wednesday afternoon, according to Maika.

Those making their way home are being told they can’t access Whiskey Jack Road from Cougar Road. Instead, Whiskey Jack Road can be accessed from Porcupine Road.

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Boundary Creek Times