Spallumcheen lifts evacuation alert for entire township

Residents in Spallumcheen can breathe a little easier.

The township announced today it is lifting an evacuation alert covering the entire community.

BC Wildfire Service is reporting that though the White Rock Lake fire remains active and fire behaviour can change quickly, there have been some good gains with increased humidity, cooler temperatures and the hard work from the fire crews,” a news release from Lisa Gyorkos, Deputy Corporate Officer, said.

“Based on the recommendations from BC Wildfire Service and the Armstrong Spallumcheen Fire Chief, the Township of Spallumcheen is rescinding the Evacuation Alert for the entire Township. We would like to stress that the White Rock Lake fire is not out and with projected warmer temperatures forecasted, fire behaviour may change quickly,” Gyorkos stated.

The City of Armstrong lifted an evacuation alert covering all of its residents on Sunday. The neighbouring communities both issued the alerts on Friday night, Aug. 6.

“Though the evacuation alert is rescinded as of 14:30 August 9, we are still asking all residents to ensure they have all required emergency planning in place for their home and family,” Spallumcheen’s release added.

The Emergency Operation Centre remains operational throughout the day with updated information on the Township of Spallumcheen website www.spallumcheentwp.bc.ca.

The next update will be issued by the Township at 3:00 p.m. Tuesday, August 10.