New 300-ha fire ignites south of Boston Bar as FVRD issues urgent evacuation order; Hwy. 1 closed

Update, 9:15 a.m. Wednesday: The 300-hectare fire is now 1,000 hectares, according to the latest estimates from the BC Wildfire Service.

Update, 9:40 p.m.: An evacuation order has been issued for the Hells Gate area of the Fraser Canyon.

Update, 6:32 p.m. Tuesday: An eacuee reception centre is available at McArthur Island Sports Centre located at 1665 Parkway in Kamloops for evacuees of the Brunswick Complex Wildfire.

FRASER CANYON – The Fraser Valley Regional District says a new wildfire has ignited south of Boston Bar and is spreading quickly, prompting it to issue an urgent evacuation order.

In a statement posted to social media at 5:08 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, the regional district says the newest wildfire is spreading quickly amid strong winds with an estimated size of 300 hectares.

Location of 3 wildfires in the Fraser Canyon, including the newest (south of Boston Bar 8 above). (Image Credit: BCWS.)

For the safety of residents who have not evacuated, the FVRD urges anyone who has remained in the Fraser Canyon to leave immediately.

“For your safety, residents who have remained in the community, MUST LEAVE NOW. You are in danger and need to evacuate immediately. Highway 1 will be closing immediately, you must drive north on Highway 1. Another update will be issued shortly.”

The Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness said residents who are in the vicinity of Boston Bar, Boston Bar First Nation, North Bend and Canyon Alpine that are under an evacuation order.

DriveBC posted to X/Twitter that Highway 1 was in the process of closing.

Image: DriveBC / Highway 1 through the Fraser Canyon is pictured in this image from Tuesday, July 21.

At last count, the Brunswick Creek wildfire west of Highway 1 is 5,389.6 hectares, an increase from this past weekend, and the Ainslie Creek wildfire east of Highway 1 is 16,499 hectares, for a total of nearly 22,000 hectares.