©BC Wildfire Service

The chair of the board in British Columbia’s fire-stricken Thompson-Nicola Regional District says that for a lot of people, the wildfires burning in the area will be “one of the most traumatizing events” they’ll live through. Barbara Roden told an online meeting with about 350 people on Wednesday to reach out for help if they need it, as properties remain under evacuation order across the region, including the village of Clinton, with no timeline for residents to return. …Clinton’s CEO Brian Doddridge told the meeting that property owners will get calls over the next few days to inform them if their home has not survived the large Pear Lake blaze, which measures about 668 square kilometres. Doddridge said the area’s watershed has been “severely damaged” and work is being done to see what effect that has on water quality. …Premier David Eby urged people heading out for the August long weekend to exercise “extreme caution” because of the fire risk.

Additional coverage in CBC News by Arden McLeod and Simon Little: Mayor concerned about controlled burns near Clinton, B.C., as wildfire rages nearby