Vanderhoof, Omineca Express

Wildfire crews from Mexico arrived in B.C. Monday to help in the ongoing fights against the more than 100 wildfires burning across the province. Forests Minister Ravi Parmar helped welcomed more than 100 Mexican wildfire personnel at Abbotsford International Airport Monday, Aug. 3, a statement from the ministry says. Another 200-plus personnel are set to arrive later in the week. “They’ve travelled from their homes to help us protect ours amidst a challenging wildfire season.

The wildfire situation in the Cariboo has seemingly begun to stabilize as of Monday, Aug. 3. Despite some thunder and lightning over the weekend, BC Wildfire Service was able to jump on and bring several new spot fires in the Green Lake, Forest Grove and Lac La Hache areas under control, if not outright extinguish them. However, several large wildfires, including Pear Lake, French Bar Creek and Bonanza Lake, remain out of control.

Disruptions to WestJet operations have ended as the airline has reached a tentative agreement with its striking cabin crew. WestJet cabin crew issued a 72-hour strike notice on July 30 and officially went on strike Sunday, Aug. 2, when a deal between the airline and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) was not agreed upon. This led to cancellations of the airlines’ scheduled 737 and 787 aircraft flights. However, on Monday, Aug.

Telus has announced that most internet-based services in northwestern B.C. have now been restored as of approximately 10 p.m. Aug. 2, 2026 after an early afternoon outage left many parts of the region without internet, television and phone services for most of the day. The company said there was cut to an optic fibre line near Vanderhoof that caused an outage of Telus landlines, cell services and internet. The affected area includes most of northwest B.C., from Fraser Lake west to Haida Gwaii.

Increased fire activity has expanded an evacuation order to Caesars Landing off Westside Road. The area was previously on evacuation alert due to the Quilpituk Creek wildfire, which is 200 hectares. The evacuation order was issued at 5:40 a.m. Monday, Aug. 3. Residents should leave their properties immediately to keep safe. The evacuation route is south on Westside Road. Follow instructions of emergency personnel and traffic control in the area.

As of Sunday morning (Aug. 2), no new evacuation orders or alerts have been issued in response to the Ainslie Creek and Brunswick Creek wildfires burning in the Fraser Canyon near Boston Bar. The Brunswick Creek wildfire, discovered on July 2, is estimated at 7,483 hectares. The Ainslie Creek wildfire, discovered on July 4, is estimated at 39,819 hectares. Both fires are suspected to have been human-caused.

Extreme weather conditions have made wildfire containment efforts significantly more challenging, said BC Wildfire Service (BCWS). Winds with gusts of up to 80 kilometres per hour led to aggressive fire behaviour in the Okanagan, adding stress to new and existing wildfires. Across the province, more than 2,200 lightning strikes led to 22 suspected lightning-caused fires. 12 of those have been classified as out, under control or being held. 10 remain out-of-control.

The Pear Lake wildfire near Clinton continues to grow, and as of Sunday (Aug. 2) was estimated at 115,438 hectares; an increase of nearly 25,000 hectares since Saturday morning, when it was estimated at 90,475 hectares. At its southeastern edge the fire has pushed into the Rim Lake wildfire between Loon Lake and Chasm. That fire showed minimal growth overnight on Aug. 1, and as of Sunday was estimated at 4,577 hectares.

More personnel are being brought in to deal with the Riley Creek wildfire south of Lillooet, which as of Sunday morning (Aug. 2) was still estimated at 1,150 hectares. BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) reports that they continue to see increased activity on the fire, which is burning in very steep and rocky terrain. Heavy equipment and fallers are continuing to build control lines to the east of the fire, as well as to the south parallel to Texas Creek Road.

As of Sunday morning (Aug. 2), the Guichon Creek wildfire outside Logan Lake was classed as Being Held. The fire, discovered on July 29, had spread to 145.4 hectares and crossed Highway 97C to the west of Logan Lake. Seven properties in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, and 49 properties in Logan Lake, are currently on evacuation alert due to the fire.