A wildfire in British Columbia’s Fraser Canyon continues to burn out of control, but it is no longer considered a fire of note, with the wildfire service saying the change is due to the reduced threat of it spreading and the downgrading of evacuation orders. Still, the BC Wildfire Service says its crews continue to work on suppressing the Brunswick Creek blaze on the west side of the Fraser River. On the other side of the river, the Ainslie Creek blaze is one of three remaining fires of note, with an evacuation alert covering about 280 properties in the Nicola Valley and an evacuation order for 61 properties along Highway 5 southwest of Merritt, B.C. In the south Cariboo, the Village of Clinton, B.C., has rescinded an evacuation alert for much of the community, but it remains in effect for some properties due to the increased risk of flooding related to the massive Pear Lake blaze. The Bald Range fire that forced some 20,000 people to flee and destroyed about 150 structures in the south Okanagan earlier this month also remains a fire of note, spanning about 250 kilometres west of Summerland, B.C., though its growth has slowed. The number of active wildfires in B.C. had surged past 180 after the province recorded 11,000 lightning strikes during a storm over the weekend, but the figure has since been ticking back down, now sitting at about 165. A yellow-level air quality warning spans that area and stretches east to Penticton and Kamloops and north to Anahim Lake in the Chilcotin region. The Metro Vancouver regional district has also issued a warning for the eastern Fraser Valley due to elevated levels of fine particulate matter from wildfire smoke. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 25, 2026.
