People in Lower Nicola west of Merritt and properties along Highway 97C are being told they can go home this afternoon, after being evacuated five days ago.

The order is being downgraded to an alert for 656 properties in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, affecting Lower Nicola, Sunshine Valley and properties from the Highway 97C turnoff to about three kilometres south of Mamette Lake. The full list of addresses affected can be found here.

The evacuation on Sunday was issued because of the Lytton Creek fire, which jumped Highway 8 last weekend and has been burning in places northwest and west of Merritt.

There remain properties on evacuation order within Canford and areas further west, on the east side of Highway 8. An up-to-date map on evacuation orders and alert zones for around the province can be found here.

With cooler weather, the BC Wildfire Service says the fire hasn’t grown significantly in recent days. It said crews were working to build fireguards northwest of Lower Nicola and Sunshine Valley.

The fire, though, did grow substantially over the weekend, during hot and dry weather and heavy winds. The blaze that started on June 30, and burned down most of the Village of Lytton and killed two people, has now burned more than 84,000 hectares of land, or more than 840 square kilometres.