Cathedral park and lodge threatened, area evacuated
A lightning-caused fire in southern British Columbia that the B.C. Wildfire Service says went undetected because it was initially obscured by smoke has now charred 69 square kilometres and threatens a popular backcountry lodge.
The Regional District of OkanaganSimilkameen issued an evacuation order Friday for Cathedral Provincial Park and Cathedral Lakes Lodge, east of Manning Park, along B.C.’s southern border.
Erick Thompson, information officer with the regional district’s emergency operations centre, said 44 people, including campers and staff, were required to leave.
“This is the second time this month an evacuation order has been issued for Cathedral Lakes Lodge,” the regional district said in a news release, adding the order was issued because of “immediate danger to life safety.”
A blaze identified as the Cool Creek fire had already chewed through one-square-kilometre of timber before it was pinpointed Aug. 15, the Wildfire Service said on its website. Crews were not immediately tasked to fight the fire because it was remote, burning in steep, unreachable terrain and was not immediately threatening properties or infrastructure, it said. Flames kicked up last Thursday but it was several days before visibility improved enough that a plane could assess the situation and crews were assigned.
Wildfire officials hoped cooler temperatures and low winds would mean moderate activity on the fire over the weekend but an area closure was imposed covering Cathedral Provincial Park and the lodge.
The Cathedral Lakes Lodge was evacuated Aug. 1 when a separate blaze threatened the only road leading to the facility.
Glenda Patterson, reservation agent at the Cathedral Lakes Lodge office, working remotely, said the Cool Creek fire was more concerning than the Snowy Mountain fire. “This fire is closer, unpredictable,” she said. “It’s extremely dry.”
Patterson said there were about 20 guests at the lodge when the evacuation order came Friday — fewer than usual due to the wildfire season making some people reluctant to visit the Interior, she added.
Patterson said the fires this year have been more intense and widespread. While flames from the Cold Creek fire weren’t yet visible at the lodge, staff and guests had kept an eye on the smoke in recent days, she said.
“This is the closest fire we’ve ever had,” Patterson said.
“It’s active. It’s not a smouldering fire. It is a burning, exploding fire.”
Patterson said Cathedral Lakes will get an update Wednesday from the B.C. Wildfire Service, and expects the lodge to be up and running again in September.
The Wildfire Service said seven new fires were sparked Thursday and 555 fires were burning Friday in all areas of the province. Sixty of those blazes were considered fires of note, meaning they either posed a threat to people and property or were highly visible. Most were in the southeast part of B.C.
Air quality advisories remained for most of the province due to high levels of ultrafine grit tossed up by the fires. Environment Canada was offering some hope to residents of Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley after nearly a week of stagnant, smoke-filled air, but its forecast was not as positive for people closer to the wildfires burning in the Interior region.
The air quality advisory for Metro Vancouver and the Central Fraser Valley was lifted Friday afternoon.
The advisory has been in effect for nine days, as smoke from nearby wildfires poured into the region, bringing with it fine particulate matter that briefly gave the area the worst air quality in North America.