Due to improving weather conditions and fire suppression, Recreation Sites and Trails BC — in consultation with the BC Wildfire Service — will re-open select recreation sites and recreation trails within the Cariboo Fire Centre at 12 noon on Aug. 25, 2017.

Effective at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2017, the general backcountry closure for the Cariboo Fire Centre was rescinded due to decreased wildfire risk.

The Province is providing the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Tourism Association (CCCTA) with financial support of up to $200,000 to help with tourism-related impacts from the B.C. wildfires, announced Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Lisa Beare, while meeting with business owners and tourism operators in the Cariboo region today.  

A cold front bringing strong and variable winds, with gusts up to 60 km/h, is expected to move through the Cariboo Fire Centre on Friday, Aug. 18 and into the weekend. There is also a risk of lightning throughout the fire centre.

Due to increased fire activity in the Bald Mountain area, the BC Wildfire Service has recommended the immediate closure of Highway 20 (east and west directions) from the Fraser River to the Alex Graham/600 Road until further notice.

A cold front bringing strong and shifting winds is expected to move into the Cariboo Fire Centre today and persist into Sunday. There is also a risk of lightning, as winds could gust up to 60 kilometres per hour in unpredictable directions.  

Due to the extreme fire danger that exists throughout the Cariboo Fire Centre and the number of active wildfires, the BC Wildfire Service is contemplating an area restriction for all Crown land within the jurisdiction of the Cariboo Fire Centre that would go into effect at noon, Friday, Aug. 11.

Smoke originating from wildfires burning throughout the Cariboo Fire Centre will continue to be visible due to hot, dry and windy conditions that the region has been experiencing over the past month.

People living in the Williams Lake area can expect to see columns of smoke rising from within the Wildwood wildfire today and in the coming days.