Emerald Lake wildfire joins 15 other fires burning in BC's Cariboo region

Wildfire activity seems to be heating up in the Cariboo Fire Centre, which currently has the second largest number of fires out of BC’s fire centers.

There are currently more than a dozen wildfires burning in the Cariboo region, which stretches from Lillooet north towards Quesnel and from 100 Mile House west towards Bella Coola.

There is currently one wildfire of note, which has been called the Pelican Lake wildfire.

As of Monday morning, the fire is estimated at 145 hectares (ha), which indicates no growth from Sunday. An evacuation alert issued this weekend has been rescinded, says the Cariboo Regional District.

There are another eight out of control fires burning in the region.

#BCWildfire continues to respond to the Emerald Lake wildfire (C40384), located approx 45 km W of #100MileHouse and 14 km NE of Stswecem’c Xget’tem FN. It is estimated to be 230 hectares. No structures or infrastructure are threatened at this time. Smoke is visible from #BCHwy97. pic.twitter.com/aiSMLgqiXR

— BC Wildfire Service (@BCGovFireInfo) May 21, 2023

According to the BC Wildfire Service (BCWS), the Emerald Lake wildfire is the biggest in size at more than 530 ha. Two days ago, on May 20, it was estimated at about 230 ha.

This has not been labelled as a wildfire of note because it is located in a rural area about 45 kilometres west of 100 Mile House and is not posing any threats

“No structures or infrastructure are threatened at this time. Smoke is visible from Highway 97,” says an update from the BCWS.

Evacuation orders and alerts remain in place for rural properties located west of Highway 97, between Quesnel and Williams Lake, due to the Tzenzaicut Lake wildfire, which is estimated at 116 ha.

The Pelican Lake fire is believed to be human-caused while the Emerald and Tzenzaicut incidents are suspected to be caused by lightning.