Crews ready to protect Key Northeast BC Highway, but cooler weather slows wildfires
Cooler weather has stalled the growth of a massive wildfire in northeastern British Columbia, but the BC Wildfire Service says the Donnie Creek fire is just two miles off the Alaska Highway, southwest of Fort Nelson.
A statement from the wildfire department says travel on the main route connecting Yukon and the northeast corner of BC to the rest of the province could be hit in a day or two as the nearly 4,900-square-mile wildfire spreads.
An evacuation warning covers both sides of a portion of the highway between Fort Nelson and Fort St. John and the wildfire department says teams are protecting critical infrastructure along the route and can use planned ignitions to create burns to keep flames away from the road.
Rain has calmed three major fires across the northeast, including the blaze that forced 2,400 Tumbler Ridge residents from their homes last week, but conditions in the region remain parched and the Peace River Regional District has not said when the evacuation order may be lifted. be lifted.
Containment lines are holding around the Vancouver Island wildfire that closed Highway 4 east of Port Alberni on June 6, cutting off paved access to that city and the communities of Tofino and Ucluelet, but efforts are underway to contain fallen trees and rocks. remove it and the province has said limited travel could resume next weekend.
Lytton’s wildfire-ravaged Fraser Canyon community, meanwhile, is holding a community rally as it prepares to throw off the long-running local state of emergency, allowing most residents to return and consider rebuilding, nearly two years after flames engulfed the village.
