British Columbia wildfire prompts evacuations

Officials in western Canada ordered the evacuation Saturday of thousands of residents in response to a wildfire that’s grown to about 4,200 acres in size.

The British Columbia government issued the order for the town of Fort Nelson and the Fort Nelson First Nation in the northeast part of the province. About 3,600 people live in the affected area.

Officials also issued evacuation orders in neighboring Alberta province, the BBC reported.

The Parker Lake Fire was first reported Friday evening and has since grown to be within about 2 miles of Fort Nelson. The British Columbia Wildfire Service said the blaze was out of control and was expected to spread beyond its current perimeter.

Rob Fraser, mayor of the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality, said high winds caused a tree to fall on a power line, causing the fire.

“And then by the time our firefighters were able to get down there, the wind had whipped this up into a fire that they weren’t able to handle with the apparatus that we had,” he told CBC News.

Fort Nelson First Nation Chief Charleen Gale said most residents of the community were cooperating with the evacuation order. She warned of a possible blackout because officials were blocking the transfer of natural gas, which most people in the area use for electricity.

Officials instructed Fort Nelson residents to travel 4 hours south to Fort St. John. Jessica Harrison, a representative for Fort St. John Emergency Support Services, told the CBC the town had enough hotel accommodations to support the evacuees.

“We’re here at the ready to receive our neighbors,” she said. “We’re looking forward to welcoming them, even though it’s a stressful situation.”