Williams Lake, B.C., is the latest city in the province to face an evacuation order due to wildfires.

The order came around 6 p.m. PT Saturday as officials spent the day monitoring strengthening winds.

Around 24,000 people live in Williams Lake and its surrounding areas, but at leat 50 per cent of those people have already left the area in the past week.

Earlier Saturday, the province estimated more than 17,400 have been evacuated from residences. Many have relocated to evacuation centres set up in Prince George and Kamloops.

Fire officials in B.C. warned conditions would worsen as a forecasted cold front brings gusting winds and the potential for lightning strikes.

There are five evacuation orders now in B.C., while multiple new evacuation alerts have been issued since Friday, all in the Central Interior.

The evacuation orders are for:

  • Williams Lake
  • Loon Lake, near Ashcroft.
  • Big Creek, west of 100 Mile House.
  • The Clisbako area, southwest of Prince George.
  • A rural area near McCarthy Lake.

The village of Clinton is on an evacuation alert, while a flurry of other alerts for areas in B.C.'s Southern Interior were issued late Saturday.

Many of the notices are due to the Ashcroft fire, which grew significantly overnight and has already caused significant destruction on the Ashcroft Indian Band reserve.

water bomber williams lake bc wildfire

Water bombers fly over Williams Lake, B.C., to refill on Friday. The number of people evacuated from their homes in the Central Interior due to spreading wildfires rose to over 17,400 on Saturday. (Nadine Overhoff)

"Basically, when it got to what's called Scotty Creek, a decision was made that Clinton would be put on alert," said Jim Rivett, mayor of Clinton.

Winds and lightning expected

The B.C. Wildfire Service reported 161 wildfires burning in the province on Saturday at midday, including 14 that pose a threat to structures. That's down from the more than 200 that were burning last weekend, but the weather forecast means more could be coming.

Environment Canada forecasted winds of up to 50 kilometres an hour across the Interior, to begin Saturday afternoon as a cold front moves through the region.

"We're keeping a close eye on it," said B.C. Wildfire Service spokesperson Kevin Skrepnek."We're especially concerned with what this wind is going to do with the fires."

BC Wildfire People stop at gas station to watch mountain burn

Passersby stop at a gas station to watch the fires burning in Little Fort on Friday. (Tina Lovgreen/CBC)

That's bad news for fire crews, as the winds could cause fires to spread farther. Some lightning is also expected, which could spark new fires.

Skrepnek said crews have had success in conducting controlled burns in the past few days near Williams Lake, 150 Mile House and 100 Mile House in anticipation.

He said though that strong wind will cause fires, or any new ones to grow, "quite aggressively."

Air quality alerts are in effect across the Interior due to smoke from the fires.

Burnt car Ashcroft wildfire

The Ashcroft fire has already caused significant damage on the Ashcroft Indian Band reserve. (Tina Lovgreen/CBC)

Numerous other evacuation orders, alerts and road closures remain in effect across the province.

The province says there have been no major issues getting supplies to non-fire affected municipalities, but Canadian Forces air assets may need to be used for supply drops to two First Nations in the Chilcootin area that have been cut off from supply lines by fires.

Of the 17,400 estimated evacuees, the province says about 15,375 have registered with the Red Cross at evacuation centres.

wildfire near Rogers Pass BC

A large plume of smoke was visible from the Trans Canada Highway from a wildfire burning in Glacier National Park, on the east side of Rogers Pass, between Revelstoke and Golden, on Friday afternoon. (Lorraine Witiw)

With files from Meera Bains and CBC News Network.