Officials urge residents to leave evacuation zones near Boston Bar

Officials in British Columbia are urging residents to leave areas under evacuation order near Boston Bar as wildfire conditions remain unstable. The Fraser Valley Regional District said some people have stayed behind, even though emergency services are not available in the zone and access routes could close without warning. About 450 properties have been ordered to evacuate because of the Brunswick Creek complex, which includes the Brunswick Creek and Ainslie Creek wildfires burning on opposite sides of the Fraser River. Together, the fires cover about 200 square kilometres. The district said checkpoints are in place to keep nonessential travel out of the area, while security patrols and RCMP are monitoring evacuated zones. Highway 1 near Boston Bar remains open with one lane in each direction and reduced speeds. Firefighting conditions have improved slightly with cooler weather and higher humidity, but gusty winds could still affect fire behaviour.