UPDATE — July 25, 2026: The City of Kimberley has rescinded an evacuation alert issued last Sunday for about 8,100 residents due to the Matthew Creek blaze. An evacuation alert for 66 properties in the St. Mary Lake area, stretching west from Kimberley, remains in effect. On July 19, the entire city of Kimberley was placed under evacuation alert because of the out-of-control Matthew Creek wildfire burning about 10 kilometres west of the city. He doesn't go online and rarely uses the smartphone his family gave him, so he only learned about the evacuation alert when a family member called his landline. They added important documents, jewellery and other irreplaceable belongings before leaving Kimberley.