Evacuation order and some alerts, lifted for fire burning near Lytton, B.C.

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An evacuation order issued by the Lytton First Nation has been rescinded after firefighters declared that a nearby wildfire had been held. 

Evacuation alerts issued by the nation and the Thompson-Nicola Regional District have also been lifted for the Cantilever Bar wildfire, which lost its out-of-control status on Tuesday. 

British Columbia’s emergency information agency still shows evacuation alerts that were issued by two other nearby First Nations remain in place. 

Light rain and higher humidity have meanwhile been helping British Columbia firefighters in their work to contain a wildfire burning out of control on Vancouver Island. 

The roughly five-square-kilometre wildfire north of Cameron Lake has forced residents of almost 390 homes in the Regional District of Nanaimo to flee. 

The BC Wildfire Service says crews made good progress improving containment of the blaze, guarding it from spreading to nearby homes and the Highway 4 corridor. 

It says light rain fell on the fire Tuesday, allowing firefighters to “expand containment, and night-vision helicopters were set to work the fire’s perimeter overnight. 

Officials say fire behaviour has been limited to “a low-vigour surface fire,” but some spots have seen a higher burning intensity. 

There are about 125 active wildfires burning across B.C., about double the number from last week, driven largely by hot and dry weather and thousands of lightning strikes. 

Some residents have expressed concern that the Wesley Ridge near Cameron Lake fire could reach a nearby temperate rainforest containing trees that have stood for 800 years, but the wildfire service says it is not under threat.