More than 1,000 people and major hydro dams under evacuation orders as wildfires cloak much of B.C. in smoke

More than a thousand people have been ordered out of their homes as a number of uncontrolled wildfires burn across B.C., with the flames looming over critical power infrastructure and leaving a haze of wildfire smoke over much of the province.

The largest wildfire of note is Battleship Mountain in the province's northeast which, as of Monday afternoon, was estimated to be 280 square kilometres — an area larger than the City of Kelowna.

The lightning-caused fire prompted an evacuation order for the entire community of Hudson's Hope, approximately 360 kilometres northeast of Prince George, on Saturday night. Emergency Management B.C. says in total, 1,032 people in the area have been ordered to leave their homes.

Further south, blazes east and west of Hope have also prompted evacuation orders and alerts.

In all, 162 active wildfires are burning across the province, and air quality advisories remain in effect for much of B.C.

In Hudson's Hope, evacuees have been directed to a reception centre in the nearby community of Fort St. John, where they can seek supplies and a place to stay.

Hudson's Hope Mayor Dave Heiberg says residents understand the situation and hope their homes will be protected as the Battleship Mountain wildfire moves closer to the community, which B.C. Wildfire says is now about eight kilometres away from the district's edge.

The evacuation order also covers B.C. Hydro's Peace Canyon and W.A.C. Bennett dams, which are part of the infrastructure responsible for generating 38 per cent of the utility's output each year. The flames were just four kilometers from the W.A.C. Bennett dam on Monday afternoon.

"These dams and their generating stations are critical public infrastructure. Given this, both facilities will continue to be operated with limited staff," B.C. Hydro said in a statement.

The organization said it is also possible to operate the dam remotely, should it become necessary.

"B.C. Hydro has well-established plans to support the reliable supply of power to the province should the fire risk change to either the generation or transmission system."

Wildfire spokesperson Sarah Hall said teams had "huge success" in controlling the Battleship Mountain fire through controlled burns, but with wind and sun forecast for the rest of the week, it is too soon to know how soon people might be allowed to return to their homes.

"Where the planned ignitions occurred, because we had favourable conditions, we were able to put in some guards on that east flank of the fire — close to Williston Lake," she said.

Hall says Sunday's controlled burns were done from the air and on Monday, ground crews moved in to clear out any remaining fuel. She explained that to create a guard, firefighters use heavy machinery or manual labour to dig down to the mineral layer of soil, remove roots, shrubbery and everything flammable and try to stop the fire in its tracks.