Evacuation alerts possible as U.S. fire chars its way toward Canadian border

CASTLEGAR, B.C. – Two southern British Columbia communities have been warned that evacuation alerts are possible as a huge wildfire burns in Washington state, just south of the Canadian border.

Fire information officer Fanny Bernard says hundreds of people attended meetings Thursday night in Grand Forks and Christina Lake to hear about the 140-square-kilometre Stickpin fire, blazing less than 10 kilometres to the south.

She says residents were reassured that teams from the BC Wildfire Service will have air and ground crews battling the fire, if expected strong winds push it northward.

The Regional District of Kootenay Boundary has also said evacuation alerts could be issued if winds kick up, and Bernard says that is forcing firefighters to redouble efforts on the Paulson Pass fire, 15 kilometres northeast of Christina Lake.

That fire has burned to the edge of Highway 3, which is the evacuation route if Grand Forks and Christina Lake residents must leave ahead of the Stickpin blaze.

However, Bernard says that although the Stickpin appears threatening, its growth north has been relatively sluggish.