Pear Lake wildfire near Clinton grows to 90,475 hectares; extreme fire behaviour forecast

The Pear Lake wildfire near Clinton has grown to 90,475 hectares as a cold front moves across the Southern Interior and Cariboo, bringing extreme fire behaviour. Wind gusts of 40–45 km/hr or higher are forecast, with the cold front expected to pass between 2 and 5 p.m. Saturday and overnight.

BC Wildfire Service warned that wind directions are difficult to forecast as the cold front crosses the Coast Mountains. Winds are expected to shift from northwest near French Bar to southwest, with possible thunderstorms bringing erratic winds from various directions. "Aggressive fire behaviour is likely," the service said.

The Big Bar complex includes two other fires: the Rim Lake wildfire at 4,338 hectares and the French Bar Creek wildfire at 29,923 hectares. Where the Pear Lake fire has crossed Highway 97 east of Clinton, it is burning into an old burn scar, which is helping to slow fire activity.

Structure protection crews are working to extinguish spot fires around structures in the Chasm area north of Clinton and other communities. An evacuation order remains in place for the entire Village of Clinton. The Thompson-Nicola Regional District and Cariboo Regional District have multiple evacuation orders and alerts in place. Highway 97 remains closed between Loon Lake Road south of Clinton and 76 Mile Frontage Road north of Clinton. Evacuees can self-register for Emergency Support Services via the province's Evacuee Registration and Assistance tool at ess.gov.bc.ca.