District of Wells mayor Ed Coleman said the next four hours are critical to fighting the Antler Creek Fire near Barkerville.
"It's a big fire," Coleman told the Observer. "It's pretty smokey out in the Barkerville-Wells area so it's hard for the helicopters to get an accurate assessment of the perimeter of the fire. But we know it's grown a lot."
With shifting winds and the expectation of lightning, the fire will be challenging for emergency responders to manage.
"We'll see a cooling effect tomorrow and the next day hopefully. But a cooling effect does bring more lightning," Coleman said.
Evacuations for the historic gold rush town of Barkerville, nearby Wells and part of Bowron Lake Provincial Park, were ordered Sunday due to the Antler Creek wildfire.
The historic town had already closed its gates to tourists for the day due to wildfire smoke and firefighting vehicles and equipment moving around on site to install structural protection sprinklers.
The fire was first discovered July 20, Barkerville and Wells were given evacuation orders on July 21. The emergency support services centre (ESS) in Quesnel's Arts and Recreation Centre is where evacuees were asked to go for support. An additional centre is open in Prince George at the back of the CN Centre.
The Barkerville highway is closed for traffic going towards Barkerville near Stanley road. BC Wildfire Services has ground crews, air support, heavy machines and structure protection in place.
Barb Cirato is one of the evacuees who arrived in Quesnel Sunday evening, trying not to think about the 'what ifs' of the fire.
"I did have a little emergency kit, I've had it for months. Just ready to go with a change of clothes and a couple little extra things," she said while waiting to be called at the Quesnel Evacuation Services Centre located at the Arts and Recreation Centre. "Once we got the notice I had enough time to put pictures and some keepsakes that in my van and just leave everything behind. I try not to think about going back to nothing."
Cirato was in Barkerville when the evacuation alert was issued there. She was there visiting with friends and had just got into the historic town when the evacuation alert went out.
"All the buildings there had hoses on them and they were all turned on," she said, adding they had 15 minutes to leave the park after they arrived. "We walked through the sprinklers as we went up and then turned around and left."
While flames weren't visible when she left Wells, Cirato said adding it was a smokey day.
"It was just getting a little darker up there and ash flying around," she said.
The evacuation centre had a mix of emotions Sunday evening. Some people were pranking each other, some people were stressing about accommodations and some, like Cirato, were just waiting for a meal.
Coleman said when he was CEO at Barkerville they invested $5 million in fuel treatment and creating guards around the historic site to prepare for a situation like this.
"That's paying off right now," Coleman said. He said on Monday morning it's hard for helicopters to get an accurate view of the fire's perimeter. "The Antler Creek Fire grew rapidly (Sunday) night, mainly driven by winds. And so it went many different directions."
Coleman said lightning and winds were expected in the area.
