Evacuation orders and alerts have been issued for a handful of properties in the north-central B.C. community of Hixon, just south of Prince George, due to a nearby wildfire discovered Friday.
The Regional District of Fraser-Fort George issued the orders and alerts at 9:45 p.m. PT on Friday, with five rural properties on evacuation order and another five on alert.
The orders come as fire activity ticks up in the province amid a dry spring, particularly for the northeast section of the province, where cell and internet service was temporarily cut in some areas on Friday.
Karley Desrosiers, an information officer for the B.C. Wildfire Service, said the Naver Creek wildfire just northwest of Hixon was discovered on Friday afternoon, and air tankers were helping to fight it.
“Fortunately, we did get a little bit of rain, not a ton, but it helped to reduce fire behaviour enough for crews to make some good progress,” she told CBC News on Saturday morning. “And there was no significant growth overnight.”
Just under 40 wildfires were burning in B.C. as of 11 a.m. PT Saturday. The Naver Creek wildfire was burning over an area of 70 hectares, approximately 54 kilometres south of Prince George.
Desrosiers said the fire was spewing large amounts of smoke near Highway 97, though she said forecasts showed the wildfire shouldn’t impact the highway.
“However, there could be some strong gusty winds this afternoon as this cold front passes across the province,” the information officer added.
“So, still some unpredictability in terms of weather, but cooler temperatures today, which will also help to reduce fire behaviour overall.”
An evacuation order means residents should leave immediately, whereas an evacuation alert means residents should prepare to leave their homes with little to no notice.
Desrosiers said the orders and alerts for the Hixon area cover largely rural properties, and were issued as a precautionary measure, not due to an imminent threat to homes.
“With the the unpredictable and sporadic winds, we wanted to err on the side of caution there, in case this fire did increase or grow overnight,” she said.
“Fortunately, with that trace amount of precipitation, that wasn’t the case and work continues on containment.”
Other fires in northeast
On Friday, the B.C. Wildfire Service warned of unseasonably dry conditions throughout the province.
According to its dashboard Saturday morning, most fires burning in B.C. are as a result of human activity — a broad category of fires that refers to any blazes not caused by lightning.
Desrosiers said most spring fires are generally caused by human activity, and urged anyone in the backcountry this weekend to not park off-road vehicles in places with long, dry grass.
Unusually warm temperatures and dry conditions have prompted the B.C. Wildfire Service to issue an open burning warning for parts of the province experiencing an early taste of summer. This alert follows the emergence of several uncontrolled wildfires, as CBC’s Michelle Morton reports.
“We strongly encourage folks to avoid doing any open burning on a weekend like this, where we have those strong winds and very, very dry weather conditions,” the information officer said on Saturday.
“Temperatures yesterday reached 27 C in certain areas of the Prince George Fire Centre, which is considerably higher than we would expect for this time of year.”
Desrosiers added that crews continued to make good progress on other wildfires in the northeast, including one just north of Fort St. John that prompted evacuation orders on Thursday.
Those orders have since been called down, and internet and cell service have also been restored to Tumbler Ridge following a wildfire just southwest of that community.
“Overall, we saw a significant reduction in fire activity across the board in the Prince George Fire Centre yesterday evening, and will be monitoring those winds closely for potential increase in fire activity later on,” Desrosiers said.
