An evacuation order has been issued effective immediately for nine properties threatened by the Cross River wildfire 23 kilometres northeast of Radium Hot Springs.
The Regional District of East Kootenay upgraded the order from an alert at approximately midnight on Friday.
The order includes the Nipka Mountain Resort in the Cross River drainage, along with seven properties on Settlers Road and two on the Cross River Forest Service Road.
An Emergency Support Services Reception Centre is being set up at the Village of Radium Office at 4836 Radium Blvd. Residents are asked to register at the Reception Centre.
Further south, a cluster of new fires discovered Friday afternoon has touched off an evacuation alert for the Ta Ta Creek area north east of Kimberley. Those three fires were discovered on Friday afternoon and have grown to approximately 200 hectares in size.
The alert area includes:
• the area west of the Kootenay River from just south of Farstad Way to south of Hahas Lake Recreation Site (known by locals as Stony Lake)
• Echoes Lake, McNair Lakes and Hahas Lakes
The B.C. Wildfire Service is taking action against those wildfires, according to the RDEK, which issued the evacuation alert for 121 address points as a precautionary measure to allow residents to prepare to leave on short notice, if conditions worsen.
The Ta Ta Creek fires are not threatening any communities or structures as of Friday evening.
The RDEK recommends anyone with livestock or other animals make plans for their animals at the alert stage. Should anyone in the alert area need assistance, they can contact the Emergency Information Line and get connected to resources.
The RDEK encourages people within the evacuation alert area to put together important papers (like insurance papers), medications, valuables, supplies for children and pets, and other important items so that should they be asked to evacuate, they are ready to go.
Members of the Kimberley RCMP Detachment and Search and Rescue are assisting with hand delivering the alert notices in the evacuation alert area Friday evening and early Saturday morning.
The RDEK will be working from south of Farstad Way through Ta Ta Creek – and want to give residents the heads up to expect a knock on their door.
An information line has been set up at 250-426-2188 or toll free 1-855-346-2188 and, when not staffed, will have a recorded message with the most updated information.
A wildfire has also been reported 12 km east of Fernie — the Coal Creek FSR Wildfire is estimated to be 160 hectares. This fire was discovered Friday afternoon and the cause is under investigation.
The fire is highly visible from Fernie but is not currently threatening structures or communities at this time.
