Dozens of homes lost, hundreds displaced as B.C. wildfires burn

A home lies destroyed by wildfires in Rock Creek, B.C., on Sunday, August 16, 2015. (Jonathan Hayward / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Dozens of homes have burned to their foundations and hundreds of residents remain under evacuation orders Sunday night as three wildfires continued to ravage drought-dry southeastern B.C.

Firefighters have spent the weekend battling fast-moving blazes across the province, one bordering Rock Creek, B.C. and two surrounding the tourist town of Oliver. At least 29 homes have been confirmed lost.

The fires have swelled in size and strength, aided by tinder-dry conditions and temperamental winds.

The Rock Creek fire, which was sparked Thursday, covered 3,700 hectares by Sunday. There are unconfirmed reports that it was human-caused. The two Oliver fires spanned about 1,800 hectares since they began Friday. They are believed to have been ignited by lightning.

None of the fires had been contained by Sunday, according to the B.C. Wildfire Service.

And while winds died down, fire officials remained cautious about recovery efforts.

"You can't guarantee anything with a wildfire," Kevin Skrepnek of the B.C. Wildfire Service said on Sunday. "It is bold, all-caps 'unpredictable' with several exclamation marks."

British Columbia Premier Christy Clark visited Rock Creek evacuees at a community centre Sunday, where she said the province will spend "everything that we need to" in order to put the fires out as quickly as possible.

Clark said it could cost upwards of $400 million to fight fires this season, a number far higher than the province’s budget of about $60 million per year.

"I don't wake up in the morning thinking about where we're going to find the money to fight the fires,” Clark said. “I get up in the morning thinking, 'How am I going to make sure we put these fires out?"'

The premier also called for tougher penalties for people who start fires after investigators suggested one of the wildfires may have been started by cigarette carelessly tossed from a car.

Dry weather over the following days is expected in Rock Creek, which “may cause an increase fire behaviour and growth,” B.C. Wildfire Service said in a statement. By Sunday, 102 firefighters battled flames on the ground while seven helicopters aided efforts overhead. About 240 people remain under evacuation order.

In Oliver, more than 100 firefighters, 10 helicopters and four air tankers worked to quell the inferno. Some residents living near the northerly Wilson Mountain fire were allowed back home Saturday, but 110 residents whose homes lie near the Testalinden Creek fire to the south remained under evacuation order.

For some Oliver residents, the return home was met with further disappointment. Looters appeared to have ransacked a few homes, in some cases leaving with thousands of dollars of property.

John Nunes says his garage was robbed of golf clubs, dirt bikes and a number of power tools.

“I was pretty ticked off. I didn’t know what to think,” Nunes told CTV Vancouver.

The RCMP has not confirmed how many homes are believed to have been hit by looting.

With files from CTV Vancouver and The Canadian Press