Buildings destroyed as raging wildfire complex near Boston Bar, B.C., soars in size

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Overnight, the Fraser Valley Regional District upgraded an evacuation alert to an order to leave for about 40 properties.

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The Thompson-Nicola Regional District meanwhile issued an evacuation alert for about 61 properties, telling residents to be ready to leave on short notice, in the area near Prospect Creek.

Hundreds of properties in the Fraser Canyon area were already under evacuation orders and alerts as the Brunswick Creek and Ainslie Creek wildfires burn out of control on both sides of the Fraser River.

The BC Wildfire Service says the Ainslie Creek blaze has grown to an estimated 170 square kilometres in size, while the Brunswick Creek fire is measured at 26 square kilometres.

The combined size of the two fires, now known as the Brunswick Complex, is up 72 per cent from the 114 square kilometres reported Wednesday.

Highway 1 remains closed just before the community of Boston Bar, where residents are on evacuation alert.

Julia Caranci, a fire information officer, says a combination of sustained winds, dry conditions, receptive fuels, and extremely steep terrain have combined on the fires for the last few days.

“So, what this has done is elevate fire behaviour and activity, especially in those later afternoon periods, when our temperatures are the highest and our relative humidity is the lowest,” she said.

“When we have winds aligned with these very, very steep slopes, then we can see that type of explosive growth that we’ve seen, say, a couple of days ago on the Ansley Creek fire,” Carnanci said.

More challenging days are ahead on the fire fight, with no rain in the forecast.

Caranci said the response to the fire has shifted to a 24-hour-operation.

The wildfire service says more than 200 firefighters are assigned to the Brunswick Complex, with support from 14 helicopters and about 60 structure protection personnel.

Caranci said the fire fight is well-resourced

“So, needless to say, this is obviously a very critical time, and we are here, and these are top priority fires for us.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 9, 2026.

The Canadian Press