Premier warns of challenging days ahead as wildfire evacuation orders and alerts surge in B.C.

Escalating wildfires and worsening drought across British Columbia signal challenging times ahead, with the province and nation facing the worst fire season in 100 years, says Premier David Eby.

Evacuation orders and alerts were expanded Tuesday near several wildfires in B.C.'s northern regions as communities try to keep residents safe and the B.C. Wildfire Service battles an increasing number of fires.

Eby, in Winnipeg for a meeting of premiers, said help is on the way for fire-threatened communities, but the coming months could see conditions not experienced in a century.

The Regional District of Bulkley Nechako ordered more properties evacuated late Monday near two out-of-control fires in the Burns Lake area of central B.C., including a 3.5-square-kilometre blaze just east of the village, not far from Highway 16.

The district says the evacuation is mainly to protect infrastructure and to close surrounding recreational trails, while the other evacuation, along the north shore of Francois Lake, south of Burns Lake, now affects about 60 properties threatened by the 20-square-kilometre Parrot Lookout wildfire.

The district also issued evacuation orders later Tuesday evening for the regions affected by the Tintagel wildfire east of Burns Lake and the Peacock Creek wildfire near Electoral Area G.

The area around the Tatin Lake wildfire, north of the Endako River, was put on alert around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday night.

Regional District Chair Mark Parker told CBC News that the situation was highly fluid, and additional updates were expected through the night.

While much of the fire activity in the province has shifted to the province's northwest, evacuation orders were also issued by the Cariboo Regional District in central B.C.

The evacuation orders cover properties in the Eliguk Lake area and those affected by the Townsend Creek wildfire. The regional district says 14 parcels of land are affected by the orders in total. 

On Monday, the district issued evacuation orders for 644 parcels of land affected by the Pelican Lake wildfire and expanded the areas under order due to the Townsend Creek and Eliguk Lake fires. 

Meanwhile in the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District, nine properties in the Highline Road area were put on evacuation alert due to the Casper Creek fire.

B.C.'s emergency information website said Tuesday afternoon about 150 people are out of their homes and hundreds more are on evacuation alert while the wildfire service handles nearly 330 active wildfires across the province — 47 of them sparked within the last 24 hours.

An evacuation alert means residents should prepare to evacuate their homes, possibly with little to no notice. An evacuation order means a resident should leave immediately.

"To British Columbians who are involved and who are facing potential evacuation or are in a state of emergency, we're bringing on those resources to support you and your communities to fight those fires," he said.

"We expect long days ahead,'' Eby said. "The federal government has noted that we expect this to be nationally the worst fire season in 100 years and we don't expect B.C. will be an exception to that rule given where we are right now."

Eby expressed gratitude toward firefighters from the United States and Mexico who are on the "frontlines" battling wildfires with B.C. counterparts.

He said more international firefighters are on the way to B.C. and the province has placed orders for more equipment, particularly air support.

The province has already spent $200 million this year fighting the wildfires, Eby said.

Many areas in 'significant drought': Eby

Thunderstorms are forecast for much of the B.C. Interior and large sections of the province and Yukon will have to endure hazy, smoke-filled skies at least for the next several days.

Much of B.C. is facing drought conditions, said Eby.

"Many parts of the province are in significant drought right now," he said. "We're seeing levels of drought in our province we usually don't see until much later in the summer."

B.C.'s Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness is expected to provide a provincial drought update later this week.