A tactical evacuation is underway in North Bend, B.C., where residents are being told to leave immediately because of the nearby Brunswick Creek wildfire that’s burning near Boston Bar in the province’s Fraser Canyon region.

The B.C. Wildfire Service says a tactical evacuation is used when a sudden threat to life requires immediate action and there is no time to prepare or issue written warnings.

The evacuation order covers the entire community of North Bend and extends north along Chaumox Road.

The Fraser Valley Regional District says the entire community of Boston Bar is also now under evacuation alert.

Boston Bar and North Bend sit across the Fraser River from each other in the rugged Fraser Canyon. About 500 people live in the area.

The regional district says the evacuation is being carried out on the recommendation of the B.C. Wildfire Service 

The Boston Bar First Nation says the Hope Recreation Centre in Hope, B.C., south of Boston Bar, is open for evacuees, though space is limited.

In a Facebook update, the First Nation asked people who have family, friends or another safe place to stay to use those options so space can be reserved for people in urgent need.

Since Friday afternoon an evacuation alert had been in place for four properties on Chaumox Road, north of North Bend. 

The B.C. Wildfire Service says the fire is believed to be human-caused and remains out-of-control.

It is now estimated at about 100 hectares. The change from the earlier estimate of about 14 hectares on Friday reflects more accurate mapping from the air.

But strong downslope winds gusting between 40 and 50 kilometres an hour has increased both the fire size and behaviour, says Sam Bellion, information officer with the Coastal Fire Centre.

“These winds pose a risk to [fire] responders’ safety and they have resulted in several spot fires to the north of this incident, which [crews] are also responding to,” Bellion said.

The fire is now burning at Rank 3 to 4, meaning conditions range from a moderately vigorous surface fire to a highly vigorous surface fire.

Earlier Saturday, officials said the fire was burning at Rank 1 to 2 , meaning conditions range from a low-smouldering ground fire to a low-vigour surface fire.

The wildfire service says aviation support has been limited at times because of weather and terrain, and smoke has been highly visible from Highway 1, including into the Kamloops and Merritt.

It says crews are supporting the Boston Bar Fire Department with three initial attack crews, two unit crews, two response officers, three helicopters and heavy equipment tackling the fire.

Traffic on Chaumox Road is restricted to local residents only and there are no anticipated impacts to Highway 1.