700 on evacuation alert in B.C. Cariboo area

Mayor Roland Stanke said anxiety levels are high, but the town is prepared with a wildfire protection plan and he doesn't believe the village will be lost.

"People are fairly confused. There's a lot of angst in town," said Stanke.

Gwen Eamer,fire information officer in the Cariboo, said crews are busy working to protect homes by building guards and setting up sprinklers as winds push the fire to the north.

"Crews are focusing foremost on protecting structures. So we have crews working along the south flank and the Kelly Lake area," said Eamer.

Crews are also working along Jesmond Road where an evacuationorder is already in place for about 50 homes.

"We also have crews that have established structural protection sprinklers on Jesmond Road, which is the evacuation order area and we have crews continuing to extend towards the north of the fire, protecting homes in that area," said Eamer

The forecast is calling for warmer, drier weather, which means conditions are ripe for a very active fire in the coming days, Eamer said.

150 fires burning across B.C.

Meanwhile the B.C. Forest Service says there are nearly 150 forest fires still burning across the province and at least five of them have prompted evacuation orders.

In the West Chilcotin, residences in the Scum Lake area remain evacuated because of the Lava Canyon fire, and in the Shuswap, 160 homes and businesses remain empty because of the Notch Hill fire. An evacuation order for the Intlpam fire has been downgraded to an alert.

Wildfireshave already scorched more than 2,000 square kilometres in British Columbia this summer.