100 Mile House, B.C. – The ever-growing Gustafsen wildfire has prompted the District of 100 Mile House to issue an evacuation alert for its roughly 2,000 residents.

In a statement, the District notes “This is not an order to leave your homes…This evacuation alert is being issued to notify District residents of the potential for the threat to escalate and create unsafe conditions, possibly requiring an evacuation order to be issued.”

The District adds residents should be prepared for an evacuation order by doing some of the following things:

• Locate all family members and be prepared to evacuate your residence and property to an identified safe reception centre.
• Gather essential items such as medications, eye glasses, valuable papers, photographs and immediate care needs.
• Prepare to move any disabled persons and/or children.
• Collect pets and pet needs.
• Ensure your vehicle has a full tank of gas.
• If possible, move livestock to a safe area.
• Monitor news sources for information.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. It started yesterday seven kilometres west of town and has grown to 1,500 hectares from 500 last night

It has led to the evacuation of over 2,000 property owners in the area (residents in the 105 Mile area, the 108 and Lac La Hache) and has closed Highway 97 from two kilometres north of 100 Mile House to 17 kilometres north of Lac La Hache.