BC Wildfire Service has had sprinklers installed on every building in Barkerville as the area remains under an evacuation order on July 23.
"It is well protected and those sprinklers have all been tested," said Madison Dahl, Fire Information Officer for the Cariboo Fire Centre.
"We know that Barkerville is incredibly important to British Columbians and Canada, so it is definitely a priority," she said.
Installing sprinklers on the roofs of structures helps to create a "humidity dome" in the area.
This helps because the majority of structures lost to wildfire are due to ember showers, so adding humidity to the area decreases fire activity and reduces the likelihood embers or radiant heat can ignite structures or larger fuels. The sprinklers are run periodically as needed.
"It's a very unique challenge," said Mark Videgain, of Seneca Enterprises and a structure protection specialist working in Barkerville, noting the many wooden walkways and decks in the historic town. There are also many wood shake roofs.
Barkerville Historic Town & Park staff helped install the protection on the town, a historic site founded in 1862 and opened in 1958 for tourism and education.
The town was "instrumental in having forged British Columbia as we know it today," said Stewart Cawood, manager of public programming and media for Barkerville.
The town has been under evacuation order since July 21 and is threatened by the nearby Antler Creek Wildfire, which is currently estimated at 3,380 hectares.
Antler Creek Wildfire is considered a wildfire of note and part of a complex of fires in the area. Today this complex, called Groundhog Complex is being transitioned to a provincial incident management team.
Ground crews are currently focused on the north-northwest flank of the fire, in order to create control lines between Barkerville and the fire.
Crews are being supported by both heavy equipment and aircraft.
The Barkerville area, District of Wells and Bowron Lake Park area are under evacuation orders with people being sent to Quesnel and Prince George where emergency support centres have been set up for those who need support.
