More evacuation orders, alerts issued in response to Pear Lake fire near Clinton<\/p>\n
Published 9:56 am Saturday, August 22, 2026<\/p>\n
The Thompson-Nicola Regional District (TNRD) and Squamish-Lillooet Regional District (SLRD) have both issued new evacuation orders and alerts in the area of Highway 99\/Pavilion Lake west of Cache Creek in response to the Pear Lake wildfire.<\/p>\n
The orders and alerts were issued as of 8 a.m. on Saturday (Aug. 22).<\/p>\n
Highway 99 remains open, but drivers are not allowed to stop along the highway. However, the threat of wildfire means that the highway could close suddenly, with little or no notice. Drivers planning on taking Highway 99 between the Highway 97 junction at Hat Creek and Lillooet should check DriveBC<\/a> for up-to-date road information.<\/p>\n The TNRD evacuation order covers two properties on Highway 99, while the SLRD order covers more than 100 properties in the Pavilion Lake\/Marble Canyon area. The new evacuation alerts include four properties (TNRD) and more than 25 properties (SLRD).<\/p>\n Evacuation orders for two Bonaparte First Nation reserves (IR 1 and IR 2, on Highway 99 near Hat Creek Road) are still in effect.<\/p>\n BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) structure protection crews have moved four water tanks into the Highway 99 area and have filled them. This allows easy access to water should structure protection along this corridor be necessary.<\/p>\n The Pear Lake wildfire was estimated at 162,326 hectares as of Friday (Aug. 21), and the southwestern flank, close to Highway 99, remains a concern.<\/p>\n South of Pavilion Mountain, crews and heavy equipment operators have completed machine guard and will continue to bolster these lines, removing additional fuel with equipment and planned ignition operations to limit the chance of the fire growing beyond these containment lines.<\/p>\n Ignition plans were developed for the south flank of the fire, north of Calcite Peak. The ignition will help prevent the fire from crossing Pavilion Creek and the last viable road system suitable for containment and fire suppression efforts. If the fire crosses Pavilion Creek and grows in a southerly direction, the terrain would limit containment options to Highway 99.<\/p>\n The objective of the planned ignition is to remove the fuel between the main fire and the established control line that wraps from the west to the bottom of the valley, while tying the fire into an older fire scar to the east.<\/p>\n For information about the new evacuation orders and alerts, visit the TNRD\u2019s Emergency Operations Centre Dashboard<\/a> and the SLRD\u2019s Protective & Emergency Services page<\/a>.<\/p>\n