Update: 11:30 a.m. Aug. 19
The Solomon Mountain fire did not grow overnight. The fire is still 17.5 hectares according to BC Wildfire Service.
The Regional District of Kootenay Boundary is currently planning to issue an update on the evacuation alert this afternoon.
Original:
Residents of Carmi and Beaverdell are being placed on an evacuation alert after a lightning strike started a fire on Solomon Mountain.
The Regional District of Kootenay Boundary (RDKB) issued an evacuation alert to 44 properties along Highway 33, Beacon Road, Boulder Road, and Solomon Road.
The blaze is an estimated just 4.5 hectares away from structures.
RDKB has issued evacuation alerts to 44 properties near Beaverdell
– Solomon Mountain wildfire nearby is 4.5 hectares : https://t.co/sjOPb5hcjC Big White Fire Department BC Wildfire Service pic.twitter.com/lWpkKEQ9t7— RDKB Emergency Info (@RDKB_Emergency) August 19, 2020
The fire is currently listed at an estimated 17.5 hectares according to the BC Wildfire Service.
The Beaverdell Fire Department and BC Wildfire ground crews are on site of the blaze along with heavy equipment. BC Wildfire air tankers and helicopters were working earlier on Tuesday to contain the blaze.
“We have issued these alerts out of an abundance of caution and to allow residents time to prepare, as winds are expected to gust through the evening,” said Mark Stephens, the RDKB emergency operations centre director.
If an order is issued, residents must leave their homes immediately and travel north or south along Highway 33.
BC Wildfire Service is currently listing two additional wildfires to the west of Beaverdell, one on Carmi Creek about three km away from Carmi, and one close to nine km away at Tuzo Creek, west of Saunier Lake Forest Road..
