The incident commander responsible for the six wildfire responses in the Slocan Lake area of British Columbia said that changing weather conditions in the area pose a challenge to crews.

Jason Lawler, the incident commander with an Australian management team brought in to assist, noted that what happens in the morning can be completely different from what occurs in the afternoon on some days.

In a video posted online by BC Wildfire, Lawler added that layers of smoke also make it difficult to deploy aircraft for assistance, and he does not expect improvement in the weather in the coming days, “the weather conditions are not great right now.”

Evacuation orders were issued for the entire village of Slocan east of Kelowna on Sunday, along with hundreds of surrounding properties, as several fires ignited nearby.

In this context, the city’s mayor, Jessica Lunn, said the evacuation process felt surreal, but she is relieved by the amount of support her community is receiving.

She continued, “Everyone has been really anxious, (there is) a lot of worry and concern, and I’ve been very pleased to see the care in the community, the offers from the broader community, to support our Slocan neighbors and those affected by these fires, and there have been so many neighbors helping neighbors. So people were totally ready for the actual evacuation order.”