Residents, fire crews clash as some choose to defy B.C. wildfire evacuation orders

A man from Boston Bar, B.C., says officials are “villainizing” those who defy evacuation orders, even though they have the expertise and willingness to pitch in to protect their communities.

Attila Banhegyi said the decision to stay is a more nuanced topic than the edict to just leave.

“Some people are equipped to stay behind in certain emergencies. And some are even willing to die to protect their own livelihoods. And I believe that’s a choice that they should be allowed to make,” he said in an interview on Thursday, referring to officials at the Fraser Valley Regional District.

The BC Wildfire Service said this week that its members had to rescue a resident whose property was surrounded by flames, in what is a lesson to those who choose to defy evacuation orders.

Crews fighting the Pear Lake fire near Clinton, B.C., encountered a man on Tuesday evening who ignored warnings to leave, incident commander Bryce Moreira told a briefing Wednesday.

“I won’t repeat exactly what he said but it was not a nice way and quite explicit,” Moreira said.

They left the man but later had to return to his rescue after he called for help, Moreira said.

Banhegyi said there are “a few dozen” people who remain in Boston Bar who are not interfering with firefighting operations.

The wildfire service says it does not track who chooses to defy an evacuation order or are rescued because of it.

Fire crews will encourage those people to leave if they encounter them, though the service does not enact or enforce evacuation orders, an information officer said.

Moreira said evacuation orders and alerts are put in place for the public’s safety.

“When those crews needed to go rescue that person, it took them away from their ability to respond to the fire in the area and protect other values on the landscape — people, structures and homes,” he said.

In an update Thursday, the Village of Clinton warned that choosing to defy an evacuation order puts everyone in danger.

”It’s not worth the risk,” it said.

A statement released this week from the Ambulance Paramedics of BC, the union representing around 6,000 ambulance paramedics and dispatchers, urged residents to leave when placed under evacuation order.

“Choosing to remain behind places not only you and your family at risk, but may also require firefighters, paramedics, police, and search and rescue teams to conduct dangerous rescue operations that could otherwise have been avoided,” it said.

There are 30 separate evacuation orders due to about 130 wildfires burning around the province. About 50 of those fires are burning out of control.

Officials with the Village of Clinton have said they would be calling residents this week who lost buildings on their properties from the Pear Lake wildfire, which has grown to about 732 square kilometres.

An update from BC Wildfire Service said an incoming cold front and gusty winds will bring “extreme” fire behaviour ahead of the long weekend.

A planned ignition along Highway 97 went ahead on Wednesday, but a further burn was cancelled Thursday due to poor conditions, the service said.

Residents near Green Lake, about 20 kilometres northeast of Clinton, learned Thursday that an upgrade from evacuation alert to order is a “likely scenario” in the coming days.

Jamie Vieira, operations manager with the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, said that while he could not definitively predict the fire’s movement, there is a high likelihood the entire Green Lake area could be evacuated if the Pear Lake fire continues on its current path.

“This is your chance to prepare for being evacuated. The time to prepare is now on alert, not when an order is issued,” he said of the area, which includes hundreds of properties.

A resident from Six Mile Lake, about 10 kilometres from Clinton, said there is nothing left other than her burnt-out chimney stack and her neighbour’s propane tank after the fire tore through her property.

Carol Senzeni said she got the news by watching a neighbour’s video posted to Facebook, days after she escaped from the home on Friday.

Senzeni said she watched the flames as they neared her home, sending large plumes of smoke into the sky.

“I just threw what I could into the back of the vehicle. I took my two cats, and we left the property as fast as we could,” said Senzeni. “It was just a very turbulent and very quick exit.”

Senzeni, who has found refuge north at 108 Mile Ranch, said the experience was “very daunting” and “very scary.”

She said her cats are homesick, and they’ve been “keeping me up at night crying.”

The BC Wildfire Service says 40 firefighters and two helicopters arrived from Alberta to help with the Big Bar complex of fires Thursday, while crews from fire halls across B.C. are helping with structure protection.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 30, 2026.

— With files from Nono Shen in Vancouver

Marissa Birnie, The Canadian Press