A fast-moving wildfire which began early Monday afternoon south of Chase on Neskonlith Indian Band territory has now prompted the Thompson Nicola Regional District to put nine properties administers in the area on evacuation alert.

It comes after the Neskonlith Indian Band was forced to order an unknown number of residents out of the area earlier in the afternoon, after the fire — now called the Mount Scatchard fire — broke out sometime in the early afternoon and quickly spread.

As of around 8:15 on Monday evening, the fire had grown to roughly 35 hectares in size.

While it is not threatening the village of Chase itself, the Thompson Nicola Regional District says its informed people living on 9 properties in the region that it administers that they should be prepared to leave their homes on a moment’s notice.

The fire itself is burning about 4km south of Chase on the opposite side of the TransCanada Highway.

The fire, as of 8:15pm Monday according to the BC Wildfire Service, had already grown to 35 hectares and remains “out of control.”

“We are currently responding to the Mount Scatchard wildfire burning approximately four kilometers southwest of the town centre of Chase,” noted the BC Wildfire Service in an update issued Monday evening.  “[The fire is] displaying Rank 2 and Rank 3 fire behavior, meaning a surface fire with visible, open flame.”

The Wildfire service says it will be continuing to work on the blaze through the overnight hours.

“We are responding with ground crews as well as aerial resources alongside local fire department personnel,” said BCWS in its notification Monday evening.

“There will be one unit crew, supported by a Night Vision Imaging System (NVIS) helicopter, conducting overnight suppression operations.”

The TransCanada Highway does remain open through the area.

However, DriveBC has declared the fire a “major incident,” warning drivers there is no stopping through the fire zone.

The provincial highway department says it intends to update the situation around 6am Tuesday, Canada Day.

Early indications are the fire began moving rapidly across parts of the Scatchard Mountain area mid-afternoon as temperatures in the Chase area hit the low-to-mid-30’s through the daytime hours on Monday.

Unconfirmed reports suggest the fire may have been sparked by a vehicle carrying hay, which reports say spread quickly up the hillside toward the south and east of Chase.

Temperatures in the area around Chase are expected stay into the low-30’s through Canada Day before tapering off on Thursday.