Thousands of residents in B.C.’s Peace Region remain on edge and waiting for good news as massive wildfires torch thousands of hectares.
The West Kiskatinaw River wildfire is still about four kilometres from Tumbler Ridge but the region has received rain, which has helped the growth of both this fire and the Peavine Creek fire.
“The rain has allowed us to work much closer to the fire so we’re still working on the west flank, south of Highway 52, east of Bearhole Lake Road, in and around the wind farm,” Forrest Tower, a fire information officer with the BC Wildfire Service said Tuesday.
“That’s our area of heavy machinery and ground crews on that western flank near Tumbler Ridge.”
Tower said the fire did not see as much growth to the east but had some to the northeast, however, there was diminished fire behaviour on the West Kiskatinaw River wildfire due to rain, lower temperatures and lower winds.
All evacuation orders remain in place at this time.
Terese Finegan, director of Economic Development and Tourism with the District of Tumbler Ridge said a timeline for residents to return is still hard to predict at this time.
“It’s going to take a couple of days to continue demobilizing, monitoring the wildfire activity and ensuring that the winds we are expecting in two days isn’t going to activate any new activity that will impact the safety of the town,” she said.
“We are governed by the experts out there who will tell us when it’s safe to return.”
The Peavine Creek wildfire, which is burning to the northeast of the West Kiskatinaw River wildfire, underwent a significant planned ignition on the southern flank Monday, Tower said.
The result was that crews were able to remove all the fuel from the machine guard north, which will help prevent the fire from growing to the south.
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The primary area of concern is the Kelly Lake community, which is very close to the Alberta border, Tower said.
However, he did say some good progress has been made on both these fires.
There will continue to be a large wildfire burning in this area for several weeks as the threat to nearby communities remains a concern, Tower added.
Highway 52 North and 52 East remain closed at this time due to wildfire activity.
The Donnie Creek Complex, burning southeast of Fort Nelson and north of Fort St. John, has grown to a massive 487,509 hectares in size and remains the second-largest wildfire in B.C. history.
The Plateau fire, which broke out in 2017, northwest of Williams Lake, is still the biggest in the province’s history.
Julia Caranci, the wildfire information officer for the Donnie Creek Complex said the wildfire grew to the south with aggressive fire behaviour Sunday.
As a result, an evacuation order was issued for properties previously under alert, and another order was issued for areas east of Highway 97N.
On Monday, there were similar burning conditions with northerly winds pushing the fire and an existing evacuation alert was expanded, Caranci said.
The complex fire remains about two kilometres from the Alaska Highway, north of Trutch, so Caranci said it is possible traffic on the highway may be impacted.
Structure protection remains the key focus, she added.
“What it has been doing the past 48 hours is pushing past our established trigger points for the fire, which is what is prompting those evacuation orders and alerts,” Caranci said.
There have been cooler temperatures but no rain in the area Tuesday, she added.
“We are expecting to see less growth today on account of those lower temperatures and higher humidity.”
There are 14 properties under evacuation order due to the Donnie Creek Complex and 370 properties under evacuation alert.
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