Health authority relocating care home residents due to wildfire near Ashcroft, B.C.
CTV
A nearby wildfire has led to the "precautionary" relocation of more than two dozen long-term care and assisted-living residents in the B.C. Interior.
A nearby wildfire has led to the "precautionary" relocation of more than two dozen long-term care and assisted-living residents in the B.C. Interior.
A total of 26 residents from two facilities in Ashcroft are being relocated due to the Shetland Creek wildfire, Interior Health announced Friday. That total includes 21 residents of Jackson House long-term care home and five people from Thomson View Lodge assisted-living.
"Interior Health is contacting families directly and providing updates on the location of their loved ones,” the health authority wrote in a statement.
The Shetland Creek blaze is considered a "wildfire of note," which means the fire is "highly visible or poses a potential threat to public safety."
The out-of-control wildfire grew significantly overnight and was estimated at more than 130 square kilometres in size in the BC Wildfire Service's most recent update.
Several evacuation orders and alerts have been issued in response to the blaze, with the Cook's Ferry Indian Band, the Village of Ashcroft and the Thompson Nicola Regional District all ordering at least some of their residents to leave their homes.
Other jurisdictions, including the Village of Cache Creek, Lytton First Nation and the Ashcroft Indian Band have issued evacuation alerts due to the fire.
