The Peace River Regional District has issued an evacuation order due to the Battleship Mountain wildfire, which is burning around 50 kilometres west of Hudson’s Hope.
The order is for the following areas within the district’s Electoral Area E:
- North shore of Williston Lake
- Table Creek south to Dowling Creek (8km west of the WAC Bennett Dam, 40km Johnson FSR)
- Southwest following Dowling Creek to the intersection of McAllister Creek
- West to approximately 10 km West of Peck Creek
- North to Williston Lake
“(The) evacuation order has been issued for Battleship Mountain and Carbon Lake area due to immediate danger to life, safety, and health due to wildfire,” district staff said in a release.
“The BC Wildfire Service has recommended this order due to the current and expected fire growth over the next 72 hours.”
The order was issued around 11 p.m. Saturday.
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The District of Hudson’s Hope has also declared a state of local emergency and issued an evacuation order and alert for the municipality due to the wildfire.
While Hudson’s Hope did not clearly say which properties and addresses fall under the order and alert, but it did post a map on its website.
The Battleship Mountain wildfire is now an estimated 10,500 hectares and wildfire officials believe Sunday’s conditions will lead to more northeastern growth.
“Sustained aggressive fire behaviour was observed on the Battleship Mountain wildfire (Saturday), primarily to the northeast and was driven by wind,” BC Wildfire officials said in its wildfires of notes webpage.
“Fire growth is expected to continue (Sunday) and Monday with the predicted windy conditions.”
Winds are expected to reach up to 70 kilometres per hour on Sunday, which could increase “fire spread to 30 metres every minute,” according to the Peace River Regional District.
The Peace River Regional District has also issued two evacuation alerts for areas in its region.
An evacuation alert has been issued for areas in Electoral Area B and E in the following locations:
- Twelve Mile Road, Dunley Road, Eagle Heights Drive, and Aspen Ridge Drive
- Beryl Prairie Road and Haagsman Street
- Farrell Creek road, Simonsen Avenue, and Lahagarte Road
- East of Johnson Creek RSR at 40 km until Highway 29 and north until Hudson’s Hope from the Johnson Creek FSR along Highway 29
A second evacuation alert has also been issued by the Peace River Regional District, but this one is due to the Bearhole Lake wildfire.
The following locations in the community of Kelly Lake are under evacuation alert:
- 4 km west of the Alberta border
- 5 km north of Kelly Lake to 5 km south of Kelly Lake
The Bearhole Lake wildfire is burning roughly eight kilometres east of Bearhole Lake near the Kiskatinaw river.
It is an estimated 2,500 hectares as of Sunday morning.
“Fire growth is expected to continue today and has the potential to impact Highway 52,” BCWS officials said.
“Traffic control is in place and ready to close the highway upon short notice. Public should check DriveBC before travelling.”
Both the Battleship Mountain wildfire and the Bearhole Lake wildfire are believed to have been started by lightning strikes around a week ago.
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