Williams Lake, B.C.

Tuesday, August 22, 2017

We left Prince George this AM, with the smell of smoke in the air and the threat of severe thunderstorms in the forecast. We got an early start and headed South on Highway 97 towards Williams Lake.  
As a side note, highway 97 had been closed to traffic for several weeks, the town of Williams Lake was evacuated because of a huge forest fire.  The highway remained closed until just a few days ago, with travelers being cautioned about heavy smoke.

The next 3 photos show the smoke residue.

 This is our appointed site at Chief Will-Yum RV park in Williams Lake.  We called ahead to make sure they were open for business.  Fortunately, the fire just skirted their property.  AND, we changed into shorts and tees, and fired up the A/C.  

 The above photo and the next 2 show burn areas on the hillside next to the park.

We were aware of the highway closure, and checked a B.C. website regularly to learn the status of the highway closure. We were surprised that we did not view much on Canadian or Alaskan TV about the fire, because it was reported to be one of the largest fires ever in B.C.

Tomorrow, we head deeper South.  Starting to see signs of Autumn, but the temperatures say we are going to get the Summer heat we thought we might miss.