Two of the three out-of-control wildfires burning near Boston Bar, B.C., have merged, while hot and dry conditions and a lightning storm led to even more fires and evacuation alerts across the province. The BC Wildfire Service says the 57-square-kilometre Anderson Creek wildfire grew rapidly along its northern edge on Thursday, merging with the southern edge of the 173-square-kilometre Ainslie Creek wildfire. An evacuation alert issued by the Thompson-Nicola Regional District due to the Ainslie Creek fire was expanded Friday to around 110 properties roughly 32 kilometres southeast of Merritt. The wildfire service said protecting structures around the area of Boston Bar, about 200 kilometres northeast of Vancouver, is the priority as firefighting efforts continue. Authorities upgraded an evacuation alert to an order just before midnight, covering the Hells Gate to Alexandra Lodge area, south of the town. The Fiftynine Creek fire that has triggered evacuation orders and alerts in and around Clinton has also grown to about 170 square kilometres. The Thompson-Nicola Regional District in the southern Interior announced an overnight expansion of an evacuation order south of Clinton, due to the out-of-control Pear Lake fire that is also part of the Big Bar Complex of fires. The entire community of Clinton remains on evacuation alert. Kevin Skrepnek, the district’s manager of community and emergency services, said Thursday that buildings on about 20 properties had been damaged or destroyed. Colton Davies, an information officer with the district, said as many as a dozen people lost their homes in the fires. The majority were vacation or secondary homes, although some were primary residences, he said Friday. Another 15 properties had non-residential structures burn down, with most of the destruction centred around the southeast portion of Big Bar Lake. “We’re not aware of any other structure losses,” Davies said. He added that wildfire conditions have escalated over the past week due to hot weather. “We’ve been dealing with some pretty significant changes on the fires that are already happening, so I just want people to be aware,” he said. “When we do issue an evacuation alert, be ready to go at a moment’s notice.” The entire city of Kimberley in southeast B.C. also remains under an evacuation alert due to a cluster of wildfires burning west of the city. The Regional District of East Kootenay says about 5,400 properties within the city and 66 properties in the St. Mary Lake area are under the alert. The district said two new overnight wildfires are burning along the St. Mary River about 22 kilometres south of Kimberly, while another burns north of Fairmont Hot Springs in the Columbia Valley. “We are anticipating there may be other starts today as a result of last night’s lightning and given the hot, dry conditions and potential wind over the next few days,” it said in an update Friday. BC Hydro said households across the province may be experiencing flickering lights and power interruptions or fluctuations due to the wildfire activity near Clinton, and crews cannot access the site to make repairs to equipment. “Our system can correct itself when there is a fault on one of its power lines due to branches or trees, lightning strikes or smoke and debris from fires,” a spokesperson said in an email Friday. “It’s also important to note there is no correlation between the voltage fluctuations (lights flickering) and electricity demand. BC Hydro has a reliable and integrated provincial electricity system that is designed to meet changing demand throughout the year,” they said. The East Kootenay regional district launched a vulnerable persons database this week, meant to identify those who need help in the event that the area needs to be evacuated. The voluntary database is for people with disabilities, as well as those with limited access to the internet or who don’t drive. “By registering ahead of time, residents who may need extra help due to mobility, medical needs, or other circumstances, ensure emergency crews know where they are and what support they’ll need in advance,” information officer Loree Duczek said in a news release. Hugh Murdoch, incident commander for the fire burning near Kimberley, said there are seven fires that crews are closely watching in the region, and that the fire behaviour “has been held in check for the most part.” But Murdoch said the weather forecast is far from favourable, with no rain in sight and temperatures above seasonal. The BC Wildfire Service says there are 104 blazes burning across the province. This report by Marissa Birnie, The Canadian Press, was first published July 24, 2026.
