Due to a diminished risk of danger to life safety and property, the City of Williams Lake is lifting the evacuation alert that was put in place on Sunday evening, July 21, in response to a wildfire in the Williams Lake River Valley.
The following locations are no longer under evacuation alert:
- Mackenzie Avenue from the Highway 20 corridor to the Jackpine Sawmill Access Road
- Fairview Drive
- Country Club Boulevard
- Woodland Drive area
- Westridge Drive area
- Tolko Lakeview Sawmill
Following significant progress suppressing the fire on Monday morning, July 22, by the Williams Lake Fire Department, BC Wildfire Service crews, and assisting crews, BCWS downgraded the category of the fire from ‘out of control’ to ‘held’ on Tuesday morning, July 23.
Today, the City reopened water access on Williams Lake for public and recreational use. Mackenzie Avenue was also reopened this morning, and flaggers will remain stationed at the River Valley entrance at Mackenzie Avenue and Comer Street.
A reminder the River Valley is an active emergency response area and is closed to public access. Smoke may continue to be visible to the surrounding areas. Please remain out of the area.
“There is a lot of work still happening down there,” said Ashley Williston, Emergency Operations Centre Deputy Director. “Crews are working on and monitoring hot spots, and we will be continuing to monitor the area moving forward, as well as starting to conduct danger, geotechnical and environmental assessments. We can’t stress this enough: people need to stay out of the River Valley as it is not safe at this time.”
The City would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the 50-plus emergency responders, as well as service organizations, assisting agencies, volunteers and local businesses who contributed to the emergency response.
The City will continue to provide updates as they become available. For up-to-date information visit www.williamslake.ca or search the City of Williams Lake on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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