Residents of 70 Mile House, B.C., and surrounding areas were told to leave their homes Monday in an expanded evacuation order prompted by a growing wildfire that has already forced the evacuation of nearby Clinton. The order from the Thompson-Nicola Regional District now covers about 650 properties on both sides of Highway 97 from Kelly Lake to north of 70 Mile House. That’s in addition to properties in the village of Clinton, where officials issued an evacuation order Friday as flames roared to the outskirts of the community, about 350 kilometres northeast of Vancouver. The fire destroyed homes and other structures, though village officials said most of Clinton’s residential area survived. Still, the threat persists, and firefighters and structure protection personnel remained in the village on Monday, the BC Wildfire Service said in an update posted online. It said a machine guard had been established at the southeast corner of Clinton, while crews were working on another barrier between the village and the fire’s edge. “Heavy equipment resources will begin developing containment lines farther out from the fire in order to get ahead of the rapid fire growth and behaviour that we are seeing,” the service said. The Thompson-Nicola Regional District posted a notice on Sunday informing residents of 70 Mile House of the planned evacuation due to the projected growth of the Pear Lake fire, which merged with another blaze the day before. Mapping by the BC Wildfire Service showed the estimated combined size of the Pear Lake and Fiftynine Creek fires was more than 600 square kilometres. The roughly 250-square-kilometre French Bar Creek fire also continues to burn to the northwest. The blazes are among about 140 wildfires in B.C., with more than 50 burning out of control. Air-quality warnings due to wildfire smoke remain in effect for much of B.C.’s central and southern Interior as well as the Prince George and Fort St. John areas. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 27, 2026.
