Residents from Williams Lake along with other communities in central British Columbia such as Ashcroft and 100 Mile House were given evacuation orders and most of those affected went to either Prince George or Kamloops. Below is the ethnic origin of people from Williams Lake. Note that percentages total more than 100% due to multiple responses e.g. German-East Indian, Norwegian-Irish-Polish. The primary industries in Williams Lake are forestry, logging, sawmilling, mining and ranching. Williams Lake has a humid continental climate with warm summers. Spring is the driest time of year, and summer and winter are the wettest seasons respectively. Williams Lake receives about 2,000 hours of bright sunshine per year, which is more than most of the province. It is also located in the rain shadow of the coastal mountains. The lowest temperature ever recorded in Williams Lake was on 22 January 1943, and the highest temperature ever recorded was on 16 & 17 July 1941. Williams Lake – along with Billings, and nearby McLeese Lake – holds the record for the highest maximum temperature ever recorded in the province during the month of September. This occurred on September 4, 1988. The Williams Lake Airport weather station is at an elevation of while the Williams Lake River weather station is at , a difference of . Thus the average temperature is significantly warmer in the city proper than the airport. Williams Lake is served by Cariboo-Chilcotin School District 27. It has five public elementary schools teaching up to grade 6 and three StrongStart BC centres. These are Cataline Elementary (Cataline Strong Start Centre), Chilcotin Road Elementary, Marie Sharpe Elementary (Marie Sharpe StrongStart Centre), Mountview Elementary (Mountview StrongStart Centre), Nesika Elementary. There is also SD 27 OR#1 Wildwood, a StrongStart Outreach Centre. One secondary school, Lake City Secondary School, which was formed by an merger of Columneetza Secondary School and Williams Lake Secondary School in 2013, teaches grade 7 to 12 students. Alternative education provision is met by the Graduation Routes Other Ways (GROW) centre and the Skyline Alternate School program. The GROW Centre offers grades 10–12 for adults. Anne Stevenson Secondary School was closed in 2003 due to falling numbers of students. There are four independent schools in Williams Lake, Sacred Heart Catholic School (K-7), Maranatha Christian School (K-12) and Cariboo Adventist Academy (K-12). Thompson Rivers University has a campus in Williams Lake and offers a wide variety of programs and courses including university transfers, certificate and diploma programs, health and safety certification, trades and technology, and university and career preparation.