As wildfires rage across the province, BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) crews have a message to anyone who is told to evacuate: just do it.

At a Thompson-Nicola Regional District public information meeting Wednesday, the BCWS described a rescue operation involving a man who had initially refused to follow an evacuation order related to the Pear Lake wildfire.

Incident Commander Bryce Moreira says while crews were responding to a blaze in the area, they encountered a man who had chosen not to evacuate.

“The recommendation that I had placed with the Thompson-Nicola Regional District was late in the evening as the fire was approaching the property,” he said. “[Crews] suggested to that person that it is an incredibly dangerous situation right now, even more so than just the danger from being in an order area when there is an active wildfire.”

The man didn’t respond well to this suggestion, he says.

“I won’t repeat exactly what he said, but it was not in a nice way and quite explicit.”

The crews left the area and continued their work, Moreira says. However, they later received a call and were asked to return.

“This person’s property was surrounded by fire and they were not able to get out,” he said.

“Fortunately, our crews were able to respond and get that person to safety.”

Moreira says the man and all the crew members are safe, but this is a lesson for members of the public.

“The reason I wanted to share this with everybody is that the recommendations that I provide for evacuation orders and alerts… the chief reason to put those in place is for everybody’s safety, not only the public’s safety and all of your safety, but also first responders’ safety.”

He says in this situation, when crews had to go back to rescue the man, it took them away from their important work.

“Obviously, I’m glad everybody is OK, but I just really want to highlight to everybody that those evacuation orders and alerts are put into place for everybody’s safety,” he said.

“Remaining in the order area causes risk to anyone who remains and certainly also our crews and first responders. And as a reminder, it also takes away the crew’s ability to respond to other areas where they can be engaged in fire suppression and, more importantly, structure and values protection.”

As of Thursday, there are 129 active blazes around the province, according to the BCWS.