The remainder of the Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival has been cancelled

After some careful consideration, organizers have decided to cancel the remainder of the Roots and Blues Festival in Salmon Arm.

The festival was supposed to continue into this weekend, however, due to the rapidly evolving wildfire situation it was decided that cancelling was the safest option.

Festival goers did have an opportunity to enjoy some of the acts last night, like Blue Rodeo.

“We have been in direct communication with our local fire officials and RCMP and with their support we have decided to cancel the remainder of our festival weekend,” said organizers, adding it was a decision they did not take lightly.

Ticket holders should be hearing more information in the following weeks.

While the city of Salmon Arm is not currently under an evacuation order, the communities to the North and South are facing evacuation alerts and orders.

The nearby Lower East Adams Lake wildfire is estimated to be about 10,000 hectares today after another challenging night for firefighters.

On Saturday morning, the BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) said the fire, along with the Bush Creek East fire, were pushed by significant northerly winds to “extreme” fire growth in a southern direction.

Tragically, the agency confirms that the spread of the fire has impacted communities in the North Shuswap.

The Bush Creek wildfire jumped across Highway 1 between Chase and Sorrento late Saturday night. The Trans Canada Highway through the Shuswap remains closed.