‘It was a hellstorm’: B.C. resort loses multiple buildings in growing wildfire

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Strong winds and dry conditions making it ‘very difficult’ for crews to battle B.C. wildfires

‘It was a hell storm’: Wildfires prompt evacuation orders for hundreds of B.C. properties

Several buildings have burned to the ground as two wildfires continue to rage in B.C.’s Fraser Canyon, though officials say the situation is too dangerous to check how many have been hit.

The Ainslie Creek fire nearly doubled in size by Wednesday night to nearly 170 square kilometres, while the Brunswick Creek blaze on the other side of the Fraser River has burned about 26 square kilometres.

Staff at Blue Lake Resort, located just north of Boston Bar, have been watching the destruction on live cameras from more than 100 kilometres away.

Owner Shayne Findlay says a number of structures have been lost.

“We got hit really hard last night,” he told CTV News on Wednesday. “I was looking at the cameras last night and the wind and the embers, it was a hellstorm. You couldn’t believe it.”

All he can do is sit back and hope for the best.

“It’s going to be different again tomorrow. We don’t know what will make it,” he said.

Hundreds of properties have been ordered to evacuate and a new order was issued Wednesday night for addresses in the Nahatlatch and North Boothroyd areas.

Highway 1 remains closed in both directions for a 10.5-kilometre stretch through the fire zone.

Situation ‘very dynamic and volatile’

Firefighters from surrounding communities have deployed to protect structures, and officials fear high winds could threaten more areas. Officials say the situation is likely to get worse before it gets better.

“The situation remains very dynamic and volatile and changing,” Patricia Ross with the Fraser Valley Regional District told CTV News.

The B.C. Wildfire Service has 146 firefighters assigned to the Brunswick Complex and 12 helicopters, 21 pieces of heavy equipment and 57 structure protection personnel.

Smoke from the fires is causing extremely poor air quality in parts of B.C.’s Interior including Ashcroft, Kamloops, Salmon Arm and Revelstoke, where an orange-coded warning has been issued by Environment Canada.

“We’re not seeing a weather system coming in dumping a bunch of rain or anything to change things a whole ton, so I do suspect overnight those low air qualities to come back,” Environment Canada forecaster Morgen Shull told CTV News.

Residents are asked to avoid strenuous outdoor activity and stay in an indoor space with clean air.

With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Ben Nesbit