UPDATE: 20-hectare wildfire near Lillooet now classified as held

(UPDATE: April 19 @ 9:55 am) - After less than 24 hours, the South East Skwish Creek wildfire has been brought under control.

The BC Wildfire Service says there was no overnight growth and the fire is now classified as "held."

It quickly grew to 20 hectares in size after sparking early Tuesday afternoon, but was kept in check my more than a dozen BCWS personnel and the support of a helicopter.

BCWS fire information officer Karley Desrosiers says it's a good reminder about the threat of early-season wildfires.

"Those fine fuels, grasses and such, are quite dry this time of year," she said. "This is pretty common to see grass fires during the month of April between when the snow melts and when we start to see those finer fuels green up once the rain comes in May and June."

She said fires can ignite quite quickly and spread rapidly, especially during windy conditions, so people are urged to be "especially cautious" at this time of year.

(Original story: April 19 @ 8:25 am) - The BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) is responding to an early-season wildfire near Lillooet.

According to the service, the 20-hectare wildfire is “out of control” around 30 kilometres north of Lillooet.

It’s being called the South East Skwish Creek wildfire and it was allegedly human-caused. The BCWS says it sparked on Tuesday afternoon.

As a result of this blaze, the Ts’kw’aylaxw First Nation has issued an evacuation alert for all properties on Pavilion Indian Reserve #1.

With no other notable fires around British Columbia at this time, the BCWS is responding to the South East Skwish Creek wildfire with a full response.

NowMedia will update this story as more information becomes available.