The BC Wildfire Service says an unexpected shift in winds yesterday drove the Embleton Mountain Fire south towards some control lines that were already established.

Fire Information Officer, Hannah Swift, tells NL News that crews have been working to mop up sections of the fire where it breached the guard yesterday.

“As a result of that shift in wind and the fire growth, those planned ignition operations that we previously mentioned over the last couple of days, they will no longer be occurring,” she said. “They are no longer required since the fire perimeter has made it down to the control lines.”

“We do have crews on site today and they are being assisted by three helicopters and their focus is to contain all of those excursions that crossed the control line.”

In addition, Swift says two 20-person unit crews and some airtankers responded last night, noting some crews remained on-site overnight.

“We do have machine guard south of the fire perimeter, so that’s where the fire has reached. That was the predetermined boundary where we wanted the fire to reach,” she added. “However, just with the winds of site last night, those excursions were just north of the Heffley-Louis Creek Road.”

Yesterday, the TNRD ordered another seven properties east of Heffley Lake to evacuate taking the total number on evacuation order now to 139. Those properties are located as follows:

• 2720 Heffley-Louis Creek Rd;
• 2765 Heffley-Louis Creek Rd;
• 2789 Heffley-Louis Creek Rd;
• 2810 Heffley-Louis Creek Rd;
• 2817 Heffley-Louis Creek Rd;
• 2845 Heffley-Louis Creek Rd;
• 6225 Lake Bay Rd; and
• any other properties within the boundary noted on the attached map.

With no hotel space in Kamloops, people who are impacted are being told to stay with friends or family and report to the reception centre at McArthur Island today to register for Emergency Support Services.