Overview
- The Brunswick complex — the Brunswick Creek and Ainslie Creek fires — is about 188–189 square kilometres and has forced evacuation orders and alerts that include some destroyed structures near Boston Bar.
- The BC Wildfire Service warned Wednesday that dry lightning coupled with high winds and very dry fine fuels could spark a 'potentially significant wildfire event' in the next 24 to 48 hours and said a single dry‑lightning episode could cause as many as 150 new ignitions.
- Crews are shifting to aggressive tactics such as heavy helicopter bucketing and deploying rapattack teams to access steep terrain, and they are establishing structure protection along Highway 8 to stop the fires from moving east toward Merritt.
- Provincial authorities have announced Category 1–3 open‑fire prohibitions starting July 16, reinforced drone no‑fly warnings because unmanned aircraft have grounded aerial firefighting, and local evacuation alerts remain in place for areas including Anarchist Mountain and about 61 properties near Merritt.
- Record‑low stream flows and drought conditions in parts of southern B.C. are straining water supplies, prompting officials to urge conservation and warning that low water complicates firefighting and raises risks to fish and watersheds.