Prince George, B.C. – The  B.C. Wildfire Service and the  community of Williams  Lake  are  keeping an eye on the weather.

An evacuation alert was issued for the entire  community of Williams Lake  last evening,   all because of the forecast for Wednesday which  calls for  warm temps,  and gusty winds.  “We have many fires in the area around Williams Lake” says  B.C. Wildfire Service  Chief Information  Officer Kevin Skrepnek ” It’s going to be a wait and see  from here on in,  obviously the weather being the deciding factor in that, which we are going to have to monitor pretty closely in the next few days.”

The latest estimate  of people evacuated from the fire zones throughout B.C.  is 14,365.,

So far,  this fire season, ( which started April 1st) $53.5 million dollars has been spent  battling fires  which have  raged across 43,000 hectares.

There are  219 fires burning in B.C,  with  35 new fires sparked yesterday.

The estimates of the sizes of the major fires are as follows:

• Ashcroft- covering  7300 hectares
• Princeton – 2,700 hectares
• Gustafson – 5,000 hectares
• Williams Lake,  – there are two  fires,  which are being managed  as one.  The Wildwood fire is estimated at 2500 hectares,  and the 150 Mile House fire is estimated at 2600 hectares
• There is also a complex fire ( several that have joined as one)  in the Chilcotin near Hanceville,  it is estimated at 10,000 hectares.
• The Little Fort fire, remains unchanged from yesterday, at 897 hectares
• Dragon Mountain Fire ( Now officially referred to as the Green Mountain Fire)  is  estimated to be 1500 hectares.

In the Prince George Fire Centre,  the three major fires in the  Regional District of Bulkley Nechako are estimated to be as follows:

• Grizzly Lake: ( west of little Bobtail Lake)   an evacuation alert is in effect,   but there is progress being made as that fire is  80% contained
• Sutherland Road fire, estimated to be 1800 hectares,  the evacuation alert remains in effect,
• Big Bend Creek Fire  ( Finger Lake)  estimated to be 1,900 hectares in size. The evacuation alert remains in effect.

Assistant Deputy Minister with Emergency Management B.C.  Robert Turner,  is quick to  acknowledge the resilience of  the  people of B.C. “What we’re seeing is an outpouring of support from residents.  People are opening their homes  to those who have been  impacted by the fires.  We are seeing a lot of compassion on the part of  people in the province and a lot of support from others, for example the  people from Alberta  who have been providing support, particularly those who were impacted by the fire last year in Fort McMurray, that’s great for us to be seeing.”