Evacuees in northeast B.C. escape raging wildfire

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The fire was about 12 kilo‐ metres west of Fort Nelson when the order was issued, shortly before 7:30 p.m. PT Friday. It has grown exponen‐ tially, and is now within 3.5 kilometres of the town. Evac‐ uees are being told to drive approximately four hours south to Fort St. John's North Peace Arena, located at 9805 96th Ave. Those who cannot drive themselves are urged to call 250-775-0933 for sup‐ port. For emergencies, dial 911.

Thousands of people are out of their homes in the northeast B.C. community of Fort Nelson, and the Fort Nel‐ son First Nation, as an out-ofcontrol wildfire burns within kilometres of the town.

The Parker Lake wildfire was first detected just north‐ west of the community on Friday around 5:25 p.m. PT, but ballooned in size from half-a-square kilometre to nearly 17 square kilometres by Saturday morning - burn‐ ing just three-and-a-half kilo‐ metres away from Fort Nel‐ son.

The blaze, which officials say started when a tree blown down by strong winds fell onto a power line, sent plumes of smoke toward the community, amid an uptick in fire activity across the province due to high temper‐ atures.

Thousands of people had to flee the fire and head south to Fort St. John after an evacuation order was issued just before 7:30 p.m. PT on Friday.

"It was a crazy drive. Pret‐ ty smoky," said Deborah Er‐ skine, who had to evacuate with her child Nova. "They've managed to keep the fire away from town as far as I know .... It was nose-to-nose traffic to get here last night."

While the drive normally takes around four hours, Er‐ skine said it took nearly six hours to get to Fort St. John arriving in the town around 3 a.m. PT after a "terrible" dri‐ ve being blanketed by smoke.

WATCH | Evacuee de‐ scribes fleeing the area:

Anyone with the means to travel further is urged to go another 440 kilometres south to Prince George, B.C., where a reception centre has been opened for people fleeing Fort Nelson, the

Northern Rockies Regional Municipality (NRRM) said Sat‐ urday morning.

The evacuation order is the biggest one so far this year in B.C.'s early wildfire season, with the town having around 3,400 people as of the latest census.

Officials have long been worried about a "challenging" wildfire season this year, as a months-long drought per‐ sists provincewide and hot, dry conditions are forecast through the summer.

WATCH | Mayor says Fort Nelson evacuation went well:

NRRM Mayor Rob Fraser told CBC News Saturday morning the evacuation of the town went well, and most people had left.

"I am not aware - in my 40 years of being in and around Fort Nelson - that we've ever had to evacuate the entire community," he said.

Chief Sharleen Gale, of the Fort Nelson First Nation, urged everyone in the com‐ munity to follow the guid‐ ance of emergency officials.

"Together, we stand united in our efforts to over‐ come this challenge and emerge stronger," she said in a statement.

WATCH | The fire near

Fort Nelson:

In a joint statement, NR‐ RM and Fort Nelson First Na‐ tion said people staying be‐ hind despite the evacuation orders should be aware that "emergency medical services are not available, nor are gro‐ ceries or other amenities."

"Utilities may become im‐ pacted to support fire re‐ sponse efforts," the state‐ ment said. "Communication networks are precarious, which could impact the abil‐ ity to reach residents to ad‐ vise of changing conditions."

High winds challenge firefighters

Fraser had earlier told CBC News the fire was sparked after high winds caused a tree to fall onto a power line, causing it to catch fire. The winds then whipped up the fire to the extent that NRRM firefighters couldn't contain it themselves.

Sarah Hall, a B.C. Wildfire Service information officer, said wind gusts of up to 70 km/h accelerated fire growth drastically on Friday evening.

"The fire is reaching the top of the tree canopies, and also projecting forward," she said on Saturday morning, describing the fire behaviour as Rank 5 - the second-most scale.

The continuous drought conditions in the region led to a high fire risk, which com‐ bined with the high winds and temperatures to cause particularly aggressive fire behaviour, she said.

B.C. is experiencing a record-low snowpack and drought has plagued much of the province for months. Da‐ ta from the B.C. River Fore‐ cast Centre predicts a long, dry fire season.

WATCH | Evacuees in Fort St. John describe tiring es‐ capes:

Only 1 route south Evacuees have been told to report to the North Peace Arena at 9805 96 Ave. in Fort St. John - about 380 kilome‐ tres southeast of Fort Nel‐ son.

Anyone needing with transportation is advised to call 250-775-0933 and evac‐ uees should register on the Evacuee Registration and As‐ sistance website at ess.gov.bc.ca, the district said.

Northern Health said in a release that Fort Nelson Gen‐ eral Hospital has been safely evacuated and is closed until further notice.

The NRRM has also warned that landlines in the region have been affected by the wildfires, with 10-digit di‐ alling unavailable.

Denise Wortman and Zack Roy both had to leave their homes to come to Fort St. Jo‐ hn, and described having hardly slept amid heightened stress and anxiety.

"It's hard to breathe - wor‐ ried about our homes and stuff," Wortman said. "But it is what it is, right?

"Hopefully, we'll still have a home to go back to."

Environment Canada is not forecasting rain in the area until Wednesday evening and is predicting on‐ ly a 60 per cent chance of showers for that night and Thursday.

"It doesn't look like there's going to be much precipita‐ tion through that area for the next couple of days at least, unfortunately," meteorologist Heather Rombough said. "By early next week there might be a little bit, but really noth‐ ing significant."