Angie Thorne hugged her granddaughter as she looked for the first time at the blackened pit where her home of 21 years had stood just days earlier.
She and a caravan of friends and family drove up to the Ashcroft Indian Reserve on Sunday to see what remained after a wildfire engulfed the community in central British Columbia, just west of Kamloops.
鈥淲e made many memories here,鈥� Thorne said, falling silent as tears streamed from behind her sunglasses.
She gestured to where she and her husband celebrated their silver wedding anniversary the summer before, then pointed out the lopsided picnic table her sons built 15 years earlier, somehow untouched by the flames.
鈥淓verybody complained about it and it鈥檚 still sitting there,鈥� she said, letting out a laugh.
鈥淵ou couldn鈥檛 get in or out of it. But they built it so we kept it, because that鈥檚 what we do, right?鈥�
Most of the homes on the reserve were , one of hundreds still burning out of control across the province鈥檚 southern and central Interior.
More than 7,000 people had been ordered to evacuate by Sunday evening, and emergency officials predicted that number would likely rise as gusty winds and hot, dry conditions continue to fan the flames of more than 220 fires that have destroyed an area covering at least 230 square kilometres.
Late Sunday, , home to more than 1,500 people.
Monday morning where more than 300 homes have been evacuated.
Back at Thorne鈥檚 property in Ashcroft, her granddaughter at one point let out a squeal: 鈥淢ittens!鈥�
The family鈥檚 seven-month-old cat had survived, her blackened whiskers singed and curled from the heat.
鈥淏igger and better, eh babe?鈥� Thorne said to her husband, surveilling the damage.
He squeezed her shoulder: 鈥淲e鈥檒l rebuild.鈥�
is in place for much for the Southern Interior.
Residents can also oversee the wildfire situation through several different ways,
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Campfire ban now in effect for Northwest Fire Centre, which means campfires are now banned -wide:
鈥� BC Wildfire Service (@BCGovFireInfo)
