British Columbia’s Wildfire Service says weather conditions over the long Labor Day holiday have resulted in “very aggressive fire activity” at several active fires in the province’s central fire zone.
Published yesterday at 3:30 p.m.
Warm temperatures and strong winds over the long weekend resulted in less moisture than expected in the Vanderhoof and Fort St. James fire zone, according to the Forest Fire Service.
These conditions increased fire behavior in the region and triggered evacuation orders and warnings in rural areas through the Bulkley-Nechako Regional District, where the evacuation of all properties west of Kenney Dam had already been ordered due to the Lucas Lake wildfires. Properties east of the dam remain on alert.
In Fraser-Fort George County, the regional district ordered the evacuation of Electoral Zone G due to the Grand Lac aux Castors wildfire, which was discovered in early July and has since spread to 107 square kilometers.
More than 430 fires remain burning in British Columbia out of a total of 2,070 recorded this season, charring more than 22,200 square kilometers.