'We are in this for the long haul': No relief in sight as B.C. wildfires rage

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Even veteran firefighters were taken aback by the aggressive expansion ofwildfires across B.C. over the last two days, and they warned that the situation isn't expected to improve anytime soon.

In Kamloopson Saturday, deputy fire centre manager Cliff Chapman addressed a room full of exhausted evacuees from across the province and confirmed the gravity of the situation.

"I've been in this business for 17 years, from crew up to where I am now, and I haven't experienced a day like we experienced yesterday," Chapman said.

"We have never seen seen wide-scale evacuations like this."

Wind, lightning helped fires ignite and grow

Thousands were forced from their homes in and aroundthe communities of Ashcroft, Cache Creek,Princeton, 100 Mile House, 105 Mile House, 108 Mile Ranch and 150 Mile House.

Nine wildfires of concern were out of control by Saturday night, burning through more than 12,000 hectares of land and threatening buildings in the Interior and Cariboo regions. More than 7,000people have been forced from their homes, many without a chance to pack so much as an overnight bag.

Hot and dry weather across most of the provincein recent weeks set the stage for wildfires to ignite, according to Kevin Skrepnek, chief fire information officer for the B.C. Wildfire Service.

But there were other, unexpected factors that helped the firesgrow out of control.

"We knew we were heading into a fairly volatile situation. What we didn't see coming was the extent of wind we had yesterday ... and also a significant amount of dry lightning," Skrepnek said.

Temperatures in the Interior are expected to stay above 30 C through the weekend and it will be much the same in theCariboo.

There hasn't been rain in the region for weeks, and none is expected anytime soon. Instead, lightning and high winds are expected to continue inthe area.

"We are in this for the long haul at this point," Skrepnek said.

Reinforcements on the way

Nearly 2,000 B.C. firefightersfought tocontain the aggressive fires across the provinceon Saturday.

John Rustad, B.C.'s minister of forests, lands and natural resources operations,said 260 firefighters from across Canadaare due to arrive in the provinceby Monday or Tuesday.Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall said hisprovince was sendingthree aircraft and 30 firefighters.

Police from the Vancouver area headed to the region to help, and B.C. Public Safety Minister Mike Morris said it may become necessary to call in the military.

The Canadian Red Crosshas started acceptingdonations to provide financial assistance and family reunification services, as well as cots and bedding for those forced out of their homes.

A state of emergency remains in effect for all of B.C., givingthe government special authority to respond to the fires. It's been 14 years since the last provincewide declaration, when2,500 fires broke out duringthe summer of 2003.

On Friday,142 new fires broke out across B.C., bringing the total number of blazes to more than 180.Many of those fires were caused by lightning,Skrepneksaid, but a good number were also human-caused.

Major fires in Princeton,Ashcroft

On Saturday, authorities said some of themost serious fires are expected to get worse before they get better.

One blaze near Princetongrew10-fold in 24 hours. The fire is now 1,500 hectares in size, whipped up by high winds.

• Visit the Regional District ofOkanagan-Similkameen'swebsitefor the latest emergency information

Another one of the largest fires is burning near the village of Ashcroft, about 120 kilometres west of Kamloops. As of Saturday night, thatblaze was estimated at 4,200 hectares in size.

• Visit the Thompson-Nicola Regional Districtwebsitefor thelatestemergency information

TheThompson-Nicola Regional District declared astate of local emergency on Friday and the AshcroftHospital wasclosed as a precaution.The nearbyVillage of Cache Creek was also evacuated.

"It was awful, it was horrible. If I stood on the roof of my house, I could've touched the bombers going over," evacuee Judy Genest told CBC News on Saturday.

WARNING: The following video contains offensive language.

Cache Creek Mayor John Rantasaid the fire destroyed two airport hangars and around 30homes at a trailer park in Boston Flats,about seven kilometres south of the village.

"I was standing on the stairs at the village office and you could see the trees candling," he said. "It was just a frightening thing to behold."

Fire also consumed almost halfof the homes in theAshcroftReserve, band administrator Jodene Blain confirmed Saturday.

A reception centre for evacuees has been set up in Kamloops at Thompson Rivers University, providing accommodation, clothes and food.

"Some [residents] have seen their homes go up in flames and others aren't really sure what they're going to go back to," said park co-ordinatorGordDavis.

'Serious situation' in the Cariboo

Farther north in the province in the CaribooRegional District, a series of lightning strikes sparked at least a dozen wildfires in the area around Williams Lake one of them prompting the evacuation of the city's airport.

• Visit theCaribooRegional Districtwebsitefor thelatestemergency information

One blaze west of 100 Mile Househadgrown to 3,200 hectaresby Saturday. The wildfire service said it's"expected to grow substantially" due to weather conditions.

The Interior Health Authority said patients from Williams Lake facilities were being moved north to Quesnel and Prince George due to heavy smoke in the area.

Another 2,500-hectare fire southeast of Williams Lakeforced thousands from their homes and prompted an evacuation alert.

Interior Health said the 100 Mile District General Hospital, two residential care sites and an assisted living facility were evacuated. Parts of the communities ofLittle FortandDunn Lakewere also ordered to evacuate Friday night.

TheCaribooRegional District Emergency Operations Centre said Friday that fires were being reported "faster than they[could]bewritten down."

With files from Lien Yeung, Justin McElroy, Gian-PaoloMendoza, Maryse Zeidler, Angela Sterritt, Brady Strachan,Rhianna Schmunk, Bethany Lindsayand the Canadian Press.