Clinton, B.C., stills standing with some structure losses, but wildfire still looms

An update posted to the village’s Facebook page on Saturday said the damage was concentrated in the south side of town in the industrial area.

Doddridge said fire crews worked overnight to install sprinklers and beat back the Pear Lake blaze, one of three fires that make up the Big Bar wildfire complex.

The effort to hold the flames at bay was still going the next day, he said.

“It’s still an active wildfire situation, so we’re not out of the woods yet,” said Doddridge, reached by phone in Kamloops, about 120 kilometres to the southeast.

The BC Wildfire Service has said all three blazes were expected to continue growing, including the Fiftynine Creek blaze north of Clinton, which prompted the expansion of an evacuation order for an additional 19 properties on Saturday.

Clinton residents had been ordered to leave on Friday, and while Doddridge was among a handful of village staff who initially remained behind to help manage the evacuation, he said they left at about 5 p.m., with the fire fast approaching.

“The town was kind of shrouded in smoke, so it became hard to see anything beyond the immediate boundaries of the town,” he recalled.

“But you could see the orange glow coming over the hill.”

Doddridge said he was aware some residents opted to stay in their homes despite the evacuation order.

“They’ve been notified by the door knockers that it’s an extremely dangerous location in the hot zone there, and that, you know, they are putting their lives in danger by being there,” he said.

The fires threatening Clinton are among about 120 active blazes across B.C., with more than 50 classified as burning out of control.

The wildfire service issued an update Saturday saying hot, dry conditions coupled with high winds were creating aggressive fire behaviour and challenges for crews.

The community of Boston Bar and nearby areas remain subject to evacuation orders prompted by the Brunswick complex of fires in B.C.’s Fraser Canyon.

An update from the wildfire service on Saturday said cooler temperatures and higher humidity levels were expected to help moderate fire behaviour, though gusty winds in the forecast could fan flames in exposed areas.

Still, the Thompson-Nicola Regional District issued an evacuation order for 61 properties on Saturday in response to the Ainslie Creek blaze, part of the Brunswick complex. The order covers the Canford area, about 17 kilometres west of Merritt.

At the same time, the district expanded an evacuation alert to cover nearly 650 properties in the Canford and Lower Nicola areas west of Highways 5 and 97C as the fire moves east.

In the southeast, the City of Kimberley rescinded an evacuation alert issued last Sunday for about 8,100 residents due to the Matthew Creek blaze.

The wildfire service recommended the move “given the progress crews have made, forecasted fire behaviour and available resources,” Kimberley Fire Chief Will Booth said in a statement issued by the Regional District of East Kootenay on Saturday.

“It is important for residents to understand the fire remains active and BC Wildfire Service crews will continue with their fire suppression efforts,” he said.

An evacuation alert for 66 properties in the St. Mary Lake area remains in effect.

Back in Clinton, Doddridge said “a lot of really great people” were working around the clock to protect the village, but the threat remained.

“We’re just kind of hanging our hopes on them right now,” he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 25, 2026.

The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

Clinton, B.C., stills standing with some structure losses, but wildfire still looms

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