Bobtail Lake fire caused by humans, official says
ORIGIN FOUND: ‘Devastating’ blaze burned 24,000 hectares
A blaze that has destroyed about 24,000 hectares of forest near Prince George is believed to have been started by people.
The Little Bobtail Lake fire had been 20-per-cent under control Saturday, but winds that gusted from 35 to 50 km/h resulted in the fire expanding, so that it was just 15-per-cent under control as of Monday.
Fire information officer Melinda Klassen of the B.C. Wildfire Management Branch’s Prince George Fire Centre said there are 270 firefighters, along with 30 support staff, battling the blaze since May 9.
“Right now it is believed to be human-caused, partly due to the fact we did not have any lightning in the area that would have ignited the fire,” said Klassen.
She said the RCMP and wildfire management staff are jointly probing the fire. Klassen said the origin of the fire has been located, but she refused to go into more detail. “It’s an ongoing investigation,” she said. What’s concerning is the cause of the blaze. “Wildfires like these are devastating,” said Klassen. “If this was human-caused ... then they’re preventable.”
On May 10, 65 homes in Bulkley-Nechako were ordered evacuated, although only two people are receiving support because many of the homes are recreational cabins. Another 774 homes are under alert, which means their occupants must be ready to leave on short notice.
In Fraser-Fort George, 130 homes were evacuated May 10 and of the 13 people that left those homes, 11 are still receiving help. A further 122 homes are under alert.
The weather forecast carries some positive news in that temperatures are lower and relative humidity is rising, with the possibility of up to 10 millimetres of rain by Thursday.
Kevin Skrepnek, the province’s chief fire information officer, said there have been 175 fires in B.C. since April 1, with 150 of the fires caused by humans.
The total number of fires is below the 10-year average to this date of 200 fires, but the 26,000 hectares burned is far beyond the 10-year-average to this date of only 2,000 hectares.
Another concern that cropped up this week is there have been a spate of lightning-caused fires, which now total 20. Those types of fires don’t usually occur until July and August.
“Once we get into those core months ... it’s even more important we try to keep those human-caused fires down,” said Skrepnek.
While the focus is on fires, this is also the time of year that there could be floods, and the B.C. River Forecast Centre said Monday that it’s maintaining a flood watch for the Nautley River near Fort Fraser and the Nechako River near Vanderhoof.