Health authority relocating care home residents due to wildfire near Ashcroft, B.C.

Wildfire fight intensifies in central B.C. The B.C. Wildfire Service says a pair of blazes south of Burns Lake showed extremely vigorous behaviour Friday.

A nearby wildfire has led to the "precautionary" relocation of more than two dozen long-term care and assisted-living residents in the B.C. Interior.

A total of 26 residents from two facilities in Ashcroft are being relocated due to the Shetland Creek wildfire, Interior Health announced Friday. That total includes 21 residents of Jackson House long-term care home and five people from Thomson View Lodge assisted-living.

"Interior Health is contacting families directly and providing updates on the location of their loved ones,” the health authority wrote in a statement.

The Shetland Creek blaze is considered a "wildfire of note," which means the fire is "highly visible or poses a potential threat to public safety."

The out-of-control wildfire grew significantly overnight and was estimated at more than 130 square kilometres in size in the BC Wildfire Service's most recent update.

Several evacuation orders and alerts have been issued in response to the blaze, with the Cook's Ferry Indian Band, the Village of Ashcroft and the Thompson Nicola Regional District all ordering at least some of their residents to leave their homes.

Other jurisdictions, including the Village of Cache Creek, Lytton First Nation and the Ashcroft Indian Band have issued evacuation alerts due to the fire.

In its statement on relocating care home residents, Interior Health said the Ashcroft Urgent and Primary Care Centre remains open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day, and emergency department services are available around the clock at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops.

"Interior Health is also working with all community clients to make plans for them to have access to the services they need should they need to evacuate," the statement reads.

"People in the community who need life-threatening emergency care (i.e., chest pains, difficulty breathing, severe bleeding) should always call 9-1-1 for transport to the nearest available and appropriate facility."