Number of B.C. evacuation orders and wildfires ticks down

The number of properties under evacuation orders and alerts because of wildfires in British Columbia ticked down over the weekend.

Emergency Management B.C. says 28 orders were in place Monday, covering more than 3,900 properties, while residents of another 6,255 properties were told to be ready to leave on short notice.

That's down from 4,100 properties on evacuation orders and 6,731 on evacuation alerts on Sunday as firefighting crews across the province were aided by cooler weather.

The number of active wildfires was down by one to 225 as of Monday evening, including 16fires that were either highly visible or posed a potential threat to public safety.

The so-called Skaha Creek fire doubled in size Monday to over two square kilometres but the City of Penticton says it is not threatening structures in the municipality. However, more than 200 properties under the jurisdiction of the Penticton Indian Band were put on evacuation alert.

Fire information officer Erika Berg said crews were directly attacking the east flank of the fire, supported by aircraft and heavy equipment.

Controlled burns at White Rock Lake

The B.C. Wildfire Service says conditions were expected to be favourable Monday for a large-scale planned ignition at the northeast corner of the large and destructive White Rock Lake fire, which continuesto burn out of control west of Okanagan Lake.

An update posted to the service's website saidthe burn would be low intensity and a buffer free of natural fuels has been constructed around the roughly 30-square-kilometre area.

Fire information officer Forrest Tower says the controlled burn has created some concern among nearby residents, but noted that although burns can initially produce a lot of smoke, they're nothing to worry about.

"It really keeps the fire from being able to move through that area in any further burning periods. Andsothere's a lot of benefits to it," he said.

An evacuation order for over 1,300 properties near the White Rock Lake fire remains in place.

The fire service says the local fire department was also working to contain a small spot fire sparked Sunday night south of the Mt. Law fire near West Kelowna.

The service says good progress has been made in recent days on that roughly nine-square-kilometre fire, as well as the 200-square-kilometreNk'Mip Creek fire that remains classified as out of control north of Osoyoos.

All evacuation orders for the Mt. Law wildfire have been rescinded, though an evacuation alert remains in place.

Evacuation alerts mean residents must be ready to leave their homes at a moment's notice. An evacuation ordermeans a residentshould leave immediately.

Anyone placed under an evacuation order should leave the area immediately.

Evacuation centres have been set up throughout the province to assist anyone evacuating from a community under threat from a wildfire. To find the centre closest to you, visit theEmergency Management B.C. website.