An evacuation order has been issued by the Cariboo Regional District for the Gatcho Lake area northwest of Anahim Lake in the West Chilcotin Sunday, July 9.
Residents are asked to leave immediately.
The order impacts 10 parcels and covers an area of 24,055 hectares.
The Gatcho Lake Cluster is located in the Prince George Fire Centre, within the Vanderhoof Fort St. James (Van/Jam) Zone, although the evacuation order issued by the Cariboo Regional District does extend into Coastal and Cariboo Fire Centres.
As of July 9, the Gatcho Lake wildfire is estimated to be 1,100 hectares.
Fire information officer Madison Scott noted in an email the size is due to the merging of fires G41158, G41164 and G41163 on the evening of July 8. The size is expected to increase over the coming days.
Last night, Saturday, the three fires (G41158, G41164 and G41163) in the vicinity of the Gatcho Lake area merged together.
Aerial resources from the Cariboo Fire Centre will conduct an overhead flight this afternoon to complete an initial assessment following last night’s growth and to establish an operational plan for the fire moving forward.
Resource sharing will be ongoing with the Prince George, Cariboo and Coastal Fire Centre. Structure protection personnel will work within the surrounding areas to assess values.
Further information will be issued as it becomes available.
Please visit the CRD Emergency Operations Facebook page at facebook.com/CRDEmergencyOperations as well as the CRD website at cariboord.ca/emergency. For more information contact the CRD’s public information line at 1-866-759-4977 (8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. daily).
Residents are strongly encouraged to register for the Cariboo Chilcotin Emergency Notification System to receive a text, call or email regarding Evacuation Alerts and Orders:
https://member.everbridge.net/index/453003085612292#/signup
READ MORE: Lightning sparks several new fires across northern parts of Cariboo Fire Centre
READ MORE: EVACUATION: Townsend Creek wildfire near Quesnel
monica.lamb-yorski@wltribune.com
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