Evacuation orders, alerts issued in B.C. as several new wildfires flare up

Evacuation orders and alerts are now posted for three wildfires in the Lillooet, Kamloops and Fort St. John areas, as the wildfire season takes hold.

Orders and alerts were issued last night as a fire near Pavilion, just north of Lillooet, flared to 50 square kilometres, while residents of 18 addresses around Sparks Lake, north of Kamloops, have also been ordered out.

More than 100 other properties in the same area are under an evacuation alert because of a 23-square kilometre fire there.

An alert was also posted by the Peace River Regional District in response to a 30-square kilometre blaze caused by lightning north of Fort St. John.

In all, the wildfire service says there have been 20 new fires in the last two days and there's concern more could be sparked as the ongoing heat wave raises the fire risk to extreme in many areas and lightning storms are forecast for parts of the central Interior.