Courtesy of the City of Williams Lake: The City of Williams Lake is continuing to support emergency personnel battling the wildfire in the Williams Lake River Valley through its Emergency Operations Centre today (Monday, July 22). Evan Dean, Director of Protective Services, said the Williams Lake Fire Department, in coordination with the BC Wildfire Service, as well as support from numerous other structural and wildland crews, gained significant ground containing yesterday’s fire. “Currently, crews are working on securing perimeter lines, as well as extinguishing hot spots,” Dean said. “Out of an abundance of caution, alerts remain in effect for the Mackenzie Avenue, Woodland, Westridge and Country Club areas, due to potential spotting or reignition cause by extreme weather.” Crews will continue to action these areas throughout the next several days. As a precautionary measure Structure Protection Crews may be deployed to the alert areas to begin working with the public on fire smarting measures. All lake access to Williams Lake remains closed until further notice for any recreational or public use as emergency aircraft will be utilizing it for lake water. Residents are asked to please remain off the lake. An evacuation alert means to be ready to leave your home at a moment’s notice. Mackenzie Avenue will be be open from Highway 20 to Yorston Street. Yorston Street to Boundary Street will remain closed throughout the evening. Transport vehicles are asked to use the Highway 97 corridor to access Mackenzie Avenue North. To contact the City's Emergency Operations Centre call 250-392-2364. For information and updates, continue to check back at www.williamslake.ca and on the City's social media channels. The City will continue to monitor the situation and will provide updates as they become available through its Emergency Operations Centre.

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