Five more properties near the Shetland Creek wildfire have been added to the evacuation orders issued by the Thompson Nicola Regional District.

The five properties in are in the Hat Creek area.

It follows a similar move by the TNRD to put another property in the Laluwissin Creek area under an order earlier in the day.

A total of 88 properties in and around the Shetland Creek wildfire zone remain on evacuation order.

The fire itself is now listed at some 260 square kilometers in size, growing by around 20,000 hectares this weekend.

It was first discovered on July 12th, and ballooned in size due to hot, dry weather at the time.

The BC Wildfire Service issued an Area Restriction Notice on July 30th to limit the movement of people in and out of the area.

This will limit the movement within the fire zone to authorized personnel, as well as locals moving too and from their properties, which aren’t under an evacuation order.

At this point, the TransCanada through the region remains open.

However, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure has warned that Highway 1 could be shut down at any time, depending on fire activity.