Evacuation order issued as new wildfire north of Lillooet grows to 50 square kilometres

B.C. Wildfire Service is battling a 50 square kilometre wildfire north of Lillooet, along West Pavilion Road.

The McKay Creek wildfire was first discovered yesterday, June 29, and quickly spread due to hot and dry weather, according to the wildfire service.

As of an update provided by the wildfire service around 10:20 p.m., there were 46 firefighters on the scene with four helicopters. Air tankers flew in to assist earlier in the evening.

An evacuation order has been issued for all properties along West Pavilion Road from the 14 kilometre mark to the border of the Squamish Lillooet and Thompson Nicola regional districts.

See the Squamish Lillooet Regional District website here for more details and a map of the affected properties.

Further to the south there is a smaller wildfire started closer to Lytton, which reached 1.5 hectares after it was discovered on June 29.

The Conte Creek wildfire is just north of the George Road wildfire, which has reached 350 hectares and triggered an evacuation alert for some properties at nearby communities which have since been lifted.

The George Road wildfire is still deemed out of control by the wildfire service, but growth has been minimal over the last week.

All of these fires are suspected to be human caused but under investigation, the wildfire service says.

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