The wildfire situation is becoming fraught in the Kimberley area. Three hours after an evacuation order was issued for the St. Mary Valley, an evacuation alert was issued for the entire nearby community of Kimberley. “The City of Kimberley has issued an evacuation ALERT for all properties within the municipal boundaries effective 11:00PM (MST),” read the alert from the city. “With an evacuation order issued earlier tonight for rural residents in the St. Mary Valley, the BC Wildfire Service has recommended implementing an alert for the City of Kimberley to give residents the opportunity to prepare now should conditions worsen and we be asked to leave on a moment’s notice,” said emergency operations centre director Terry Balan. “We need to stress that at this time, this is only an alert.” The evacuation ALERT area includes: • The entire city of Kimberley municipal boundary, and properties in the Regional District of East Kootenay directly south and southeast of the city of Kimberley municipal boundary. The Meachen Creek fire was burning at 5,685 hectares as of Friday morning, southwest of St. Mary Valley. Originally estimated to be 10,000 hectares, a perimeter scan earlier this week gave ground crews a better idea of the size. BC Wildfire Service said active winds gusting up to 40 kilometres per hour increased fire activity Thursday evening, pushing the flames north. It has not yet merged with the Mount Dickson wildfire. About 14 kilometres north of Kimberley, the Lost Dog Complex fire is an estimated 706 hectares, near Ta Ta Creek. If people have personal items, recreational vehicles, boats or other items they want to move, the alert stage is the time to move them. If an order is issued, it means you must leave the area immediately. The RDEK has posted on its website a basic checklist of things to consider having ready as part of your personal preparedness. An information line is also set up at 250-426-2188 or toll free 1-855-346-2188. For the latest status of wildfires, visit http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/wildfire-status<doc-sep>The second-largest city in B.C. 's East Kootenay region has been placed on evacuation alert as wildfires fed by strong, unpredictable winds become more intense in several areas of the province. All of Kimberley, B.C. — accounting for around 7,400 people — must now be ready to leave at a moment's notice. West of the city, an evacuation order already in place affects 65 properties in the St. Mary's Valley. The emergency operations centre in Cranbrook, B.C., is putting together a plan in case the Meachan Creek fire gets too close to Kimberley. The community is fairly spread out, stretching a fair distance along a windy highway that ends at a large ski hill and golf resort. On Friday, Interior Health said its staff has started evacuating patients from care homes in Kimberley as a precaution. Further north, Highway 93 South through Kootenay National Park may be impacted by wildfire smoke this weekend. Traffic has been reduced to 50 km/h through the area of the Wardle wildfire. Elsewhere in B.C. Officials are also watching the Shovel Lake fire, which has prompted evacuation orders or alerts from Fraser Lake all the way north to Fort St. James in north-central B.C. The B.C. Wildfire Service has warned of the potential for extreme fire activity on that blaze and several others in the region between Quesnel, Prince George and almost as far west as Kitimat. Increased fire activity is also predicted throughout the Kamloops Fire Centre on Friday as lifting smoke means temperatures will climb and humidity will drop. Nearly 600 wildfires are currently burning across the province, with 50 of them considered to be highly visible or threats to people and property. Air-quality advisories remain in effect across much of Western Canada due to smoke. The clouds of smoke over North America during the past few weeks have been epic. On August 15, 2018, smoke was even visible to DSCOVR, a satellite about 1 million miles away. https://t.co/JbooAosaT2 #NASA #EPIC #AirQuality #wildfires pic.twitter.com/IcwqdWWIh6 —@NASAEarth Combined smog from the region's wildfires is visible from NASA's DSCOVR satellite, about 1.6 million kilometres away. With files from Bob Keating and the Canadian Press Read more from CBC British Columbia<doc-sep>Send this page to someone via email A massive wildfire burning out of control southwest of Kimberley, B.C., has prompted an evacuation order for 65 properties in the St. Mary Lake area on Thursday night. It has also prompted an evacuation alert for the entire city of Kimberley. The community of 5,000 must be ready to leave at a moment’s notice. The Regional District of East Kootenay said there is immediate danger to those living in the area because of the Meachen Creek Wildfire and people in the evacuation zone should leave immediately. Story continues below advertisement Properties affected include those on the west boundary of the City of Kimberley to the Redding Creek/ St. Mary’s River convergence, including St. Mary’s Lake Road and Lakefront Road. The Meachen Creek wildfire is 5,685 hectares and growing, pushed north by 40 km/h winds, according to the BC Wildfire Service. New mapping Thursday helped better define the boundaries of the blaze and indicated it has not merged with the 1,391-hectare Mount Dickson wildfire, which is burning to the southwest of the Meachen Creek blaze. Both fires are said to have been ignited by lightning July 30 and Aug. 1. Both fires are burning out of control and no resources other than two pieces of heavy machinery have been committed to fight the blazes. A state of emergency has been declared as more than 560 wildfires burn in B.C. Road restrictions have been issued for Meachen Creek, Redding Creek, Grey Creek and White Boar forest service roads. Story continues below advertisement BC Parks has also issued a partial closure of Kianuko Provincial Park. Evacuees should report to the Kimberley Centennial Center at 100-4th Avenue. Those who need transportation from their homes should call 250-489-9677. Here are some tips for people under evacuation order: • Close all windows and doors. • Shut off all gas and electrical appliances, other than refrigerators and freezers. • Close gates (latch), but do not lock. • Gather your family: take a neighbour or someone who needs help. • Take critical items (medicine, purse, wallet, and keys) only if they are immediately available. Take pets in pet kennels or on leash. • Do not use more vehicles than you have to. • Do not use the telephone unless you need emergency service.<doc-sep>Share this Story: Kimberley says it's still open for business, despite evacuation alert Kimberley says it's still open for business, despite evacuation alert Photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck Article content The city of Kimberley, B.C., remains on evacuation alert as almost 600 fires burn across the province, prompting the declaration of a state of emergency earlier this week. Fifty of the fires are considered highly visible or potentially dangerous to people or property, and B.C. Wildfire Service said about 436,000 hectares of forest have been consumed so far. We apologize, but this video has failed to load. tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Kimberley says it's still open for business, despite evacuation alert Back to video Kimberley — which has been on alert since Thursday night — is a popular vacation destination for many Albertans. The city’s mayor estimates that at least 65 per cent of Kimberley’s tourism comes from Alberta. “With respect to Calgarians or anybody from Alberta that typically comes out here on the weekend, they can still do that,” said Mayor Don McCormick. “It’s either smoky in Calgary, or smoky in Kimberley. The evacuation alert should not affect anybody coming out to spend the weekend or their time here.” McCormick said despite the dark and smoky skies, most businesses are still open and the city has an emergency plan in place, pending any changes. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content According to Kimberley Tourism, the city is still booking visitors and there have been few cancellations, but one campground on the city’s edge is facing a huge drop in numbers. Leanna Winter, manager at Kimberley Riverside Campground, said as of Friday afternoon, only 37 campsites were booked, down from the 139 sites booked on Thursday night. The campground — which Winter said is always filled with Alberta tourists — is at the edge of the city, bordering the St. Mary Valley, which is on evacuation order. “We will continue to operate until we are told otherwise by the RCMP,” she said. “All of our guests are fully aware of the situation and they’re prepared and ready at a moment’s notice if they need to go.” The alert in Kimberley was prompted by high winds as a 56-square-kilometre wildfire pushed north toward the city, while 65 properties in St. Mary Valley — about 10 kilometres southwest of Kimberley — were ordered to evacuate on Thursday night. “(The wildfire near Kimberley) does look like it’s settled down a little bit over night, which isn’t unexpected given that temperatures do tend to go down,” said B.C. Wildfire Service chief fire information officer Kevin Skrepnek. “But it’s still very much a threat there, and given that a lack of rain is in the immediate future, that’s going to be an ongoing concern.” Skrepnek said a fire burning close to Creston, B.C., has caused a travel advisory to be in effect for a section of Highway 3, which could impact vacationers. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content Photo by Postmedia Archives Tara Herman was born and raised in Calgary and moved to Kimberley 10 years ago. On Friday morning, she woke up and quickly packed a bag with essentials, as well as a hard drive filled with photos and dog food for her black lab. Then she called her parents in Claresholm to make sure she could head over if the alert turned into an order. “It’s super smoky, there’s ash falling; like your car is just covered in ash in the morning,” she said. “There’s pine needles that have been sucked up and dropped everywhere. The sky is creepy, and I normally have a really great view of the Purcell Mountains from my place, but you can’t see anything at all, it’s just smoke.” Herman walked around downtown on Friday morning and said that while the mood is pretty calm, everyone is “just milling around and talking about what’s going on and kind of waiting to hear. People are a bit on edge.” Fires in southeastern B.C. continue to encroach on Alberta, causing most of the smoke that has blanketed Calgary over the past few days. Air-quality advisories remain in effect for much of Western Canada as the fires continue to burn. — With files from the Canadian Press Share this article in your social network Latest National Stories Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Calgary Herald Headline News Sign up to receive daily headline news from the Calgary Herald, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. Email Address There was an error, please provide a valid email address. By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You may unsubscribe any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300 Thanks for signing up! A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it please check your junk folder. The next issue of Calgary Herald Headline News will soon be in your inbox. 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Send this page to someone via email The entire city of Kimberley has been put on evacuation alert as a growing wildfire moves in from the west. The notice was issued to residents of the city late Thursday to warn them of the growing Meachen Creek wildfire. Residents of the community and surrounding areas of around 7,500 people, located in the southeastern part of B.C., northwest of Cranbrook, must be ready to leave at a moment’s notice. The fire, now 5,685 hectares in size, is about 10 kilometres southwest of St. Mary Lake. The fire has grown very quickly over the past few days. Story continues below advertisement This same fire also prompted an evacuation order for 65 properties in the St. Mary Lake area on Thursday night. The Regional District of East Kootenay said there is an immediate danger to those living in the area because of the Meachen Creek Wildfire and people in the evacuation zone should leave immediately. **Evacuation ALERT for the entire City of Kimberley Municipal Boundary, and Properties in the RDEK directly south and southwest of the City of Kimberley as outlined in the map below** — City of Kimberley (@CityofKimberley) August 17, 2018 READ MORE: Evacuation order issued for 65 properties west of Kimberley due to wildfire Properties affected include those on the west boundary of the City of Kimberley to the Redding Creek/St. Mary’s River convergence, including St. Mary’s Lake Road and Lakefront Road. Interior Health is also voluntarily evacuating seniors in its care facilities in Kimberley as a precaution due to the evacuation alert. The relocation relates to residents of the Kimberley Special Care Home and assisted living clients from Garden View Village, as well as vulnerable clients in the community, said Interior Health. The health authority said the move was precautionary, and not due to any change in the fire situation. Kimberley resident Josh Lockhart told Global News he is packing up three kids, a dog and a bird to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice. Story continues below advertisement He said there is definitely an uneasy and unsettling feeling in the city Friday morning. “You’re supposed to go about things as usual because it is just an alert, but at the same time you have to be ready to pick up and go at any point,” he said. Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "You're supposed to go about things as usual because it is just an alert, but at the same time you have to be ready to pick up and go at any point," he said. “We’re trying to prepare as much as possible and get everything ready to go.” WATCH: The entire city of Kimberley, B.C. has been put on evacuation alert, as a growing wildfire moves in from the west. 2:02 City of Kimberley on evacuation alert City of Kimberley on evacuation alert – Aug 17, 2018 Lockhart said they are packing the things that cannot be easily replaced, like photos and memorable clothes – things of sentimental value. A community meeting was held two nights ago, which Lockhart attended, and he said residents were told if the fire reaches the St. Mary Valley then firefighters will be on hand to fight the flames. Story continues below advertisement “Where it’s burning right now, it’s a little too dangerous for front-line workers to get to.” “They’re ready for it when it comes down into the St. Mary Valley.” Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "They're ready for it when it comes down into the St. Mary Valley." My friend @theRickYoung took this photo comparing 6 months ago to yesterday. pic.twitter.com/auwQHFrmZI — Josh Lockhart 🇨🇦 (@joshuaklockhart) August 17, 2018 Fire information officer Travis Abbey told Global News a trapper’s cabin may have been lost in the fire, as it is inside the main fire location, but he could not confirm if it survived or not. He said no other homes or structures had been lost as of Friday afternoon. “The threat to homes will exist until we complete our containment operations…or we get days of rain,” Abbey said. New mapping Thursday helped better define the boundaries of the blaze and indicated it has not merged with the 1,391-hectare Mount Dickson wildfire, which is burning to the southwest of the Meachen Creek blaze. An expanded forest service road restrictions are in effect for the Meachen Creek, Redding Creek, Grey Creek and White Boar forest service roads.