B.C. officials had a sobering message for British Columbians Wednesday as wildfires rage around the province: “prepare for the worst.”
As of Wednesday, there were 86 wildfires burning in the province with 13 sparked in the last 24 hours according to Minster of Forests Bruce Ralston.
Since April 1, 433 wildfires have burned a total of 762,000 hectares, Ralston said.
The 20-year average for this time of year is 306 wildfires and just 18,000 hectares burned, he added.
Most of this season’s fires are burning in the northeastern part of the province.
“There are more than 1,300 personnel directly engaged in wildfire response efforts across the province today,” Ralston said.
Bowinn Ma, Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness, said 2,750 people had been evacuated from their homes across the province as of Wednesday afternoon.
Ma also urged all British Columbians to pre-register for Emergency Support Services, even if there is no current threat to their home or community.
“Now is the time to prepare yourselves, your family, your home and your community for any potential fires,” she said. “Follow all fire bans and avoid any activity that may result in a wildfire.”
A massive wildfire complex burning in the northern part of B.C. is threatening the highway connecting to the Yukon.
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.
The Donnie Creek complex is about two kilometres from the Alaska Highway, north of Trutch.
If access to the highway is cut off, residents of Fort Nelson could face a 1,700-kilometre detour via highways 37 and 16 if they need to travel south in the province.
Thousands of residents in B.C.’s Peace Region remain on edge and awaiting 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,” said Forrest Tower, a fire information officer with the BC Wildfire Service, on Tuesday.
All evacuation orders remain in place at this time.