UPDATE 9 p.m. – People who live Logan Lake have been ordered to evacuate because of the Tremont Creek wildfire.

The order applies to all properties in the community southwest of Kamloops, and it came into effect at 3:30 p.m. today, August 12.

“The fire has come a little closer than we’re comfortable with at this point,” Mayor Robin Smith told NL News.

“They said roughly about 10 kilometres from us, but then BC wildfire did a fly over and that’s what initiated their recommendation to us to evacuate. I think after they did the fly over they realized that it had come closer than what we had originally thought.”

NL News has since learned the fire was about six kilometres north of Logan Lake, as of 8:40 p.m., with local firefighters installing sprinklers on homes since the evacuation order was signed.

The TNRD has also evacuated 10 properties in the vicinity of Tunkwa Lake as noted on the attached map.

Further, another 280 properties in the Cherry Creek, Dominic Lake, and Greenstone Mountain Park areas, northeast of Logan Lake, are now on an evacuation alert.

The BC Wildfire Service says the Tremont Creek fire experienced significant growth in the past 24 hours, adding it escaped containment lines in the southeast near Tunkwa Lake.

“BC Wildfire continues to respond with crews, heavy equipment and aerial resources,” they said, in a statement. “Continued hot, dry conditions and gusting winds are expected to persist for the next 48 hours. Structure Protection has been deployed to Logan Lake.”

“This growth is not a result of the planned ignitions.”

Logan Lake residents are being told to go to Chilliwack instead of Merritt or Ashcroft because of a lack of accommodation in those two communities. Some Kamloops hotels have said they have space for residents, who are also being warned to avoid Highway 97D towards the Coquihalla and Kamloops.

“There is a reception centre in Chilliwack that will be receiving folks,” Smith added. “Failing that, we are asking people as much as they possibly can to stay with friends and family because accommodations are quite slim out there right now.”

As of publishing Highway 97D is closed in both directions, while Highway 97C is also closed from the junction with Highway 97D in Logan Lake to Brolin Road, south of the community.

The Tremont Creek wildfire has been burning aggressively over the past day.

Winds have been blowing the fire south from the Tunkwa Lake area today towards Logan Lake.