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Castlegar wildfire burns 15 hectares but no structures

Evacuation orders remain in place
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An aerial view of the Merry Creek fire taken July 1 by the BC Wildfire Service.

The Merry Creek Wildfire near Castlegar has grown to about 15 hectares in size.

The human-caused fire began July 1 near homes and a care home and quickly resulted in evacuation orders.

The BC Wildfire Service still considers the fire out of control, but progress is being made.

PREVIOUS: More evacuations ordered, RDCK declares state of emergency as wildfire burns in Castlegar

According to the Regional District of Central Kootenay (RDCK), additional structure protection resources arrived at the fire this morning and work by structure protection crews is ongoing.

No structure loss has occurred at this time.

More than 30 properties within the RDCK are under an evacuation order.

A separate evacuation order for properties within the City of Castlegar was downgraded to an evacuation alert last night.

Residents of Castleview Care Centre were safely evacuated yesterday and spent the night at the Castlegar Community Complex.

Highway 3 remains closed in both directions. A detour is in effect. Visit DriveBC for road closure information.

More updates to come …

READ MORE: From smoke to devastation: 23 minutes in Lytton

READ MORE: Kamloops homes evacuated twice in one night due to lightning-sparked wildfire



betsy.kline@castlegarnews.com

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Merry Creek Wildfire near Castlegar. Photo: Rob Voykin
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Merry Creek Fire. Photo: Jennifer Small


Betsy Kline

About the Author: Betsy Kline

After spending several years as a freelance writer for the Castlegar News, Betsy joined the editorial staff as a reporter in March of 2015. In 2020, she moved into the editor's position.
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