Conditions improve for crews battling Fort Nelson, B.C., wildfire
Calmer weather forecast as fire grows to 84 square kilometres; looting reported in evacuated town
UPDATE — May 15, 7 a.m. PT: All eyes on weather as wildfire burns close to Fort Nelson and another grows to the north
Poor internet connection? Access a low-bandwidth, accessible version of this story on CBC Lite.
THE LATEST:
- The Parker Lake fire near Fort Nelson is now measured at 84 square kilometres.
- Favourable weather conditions are helping crews as some rain starts to fall in northeastern B.C.
- B.C.'s premier says that no homes have been lost due to the fire, but incoming weather will be critical in the fight against the fires.
- Fort St. John hotels are near capacity, with evacuees encouraged to go elsewhere if possible.
The mayor of Fort Nelson, B.C., says that he's optimistic that favourable weather conditions helped crews in the area on Tuesday, as the Parker Lake wildfire continues to grow just west of town.
While the fire grew from 53 to 84 square kilometres over the course of Monday, B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) information officer Morgan Blois says previously predicted strong winds did not materialize overnight Monday.
"Those winds were a little bit calmer than expected and moved away from town, taking the fire with it," Blois said on CBC's The Early Edition Tuesday morning.
Blois said Tuesday's forecast shows continued calm as firefighters focus on keeping the perimeter of the blaze away from Fort Nelson. The flames remained about 2.5 kilometres outside of town.
"We are really hoping that we can take advantage of this little lull in fire behaviour, and really get some good suppression done," said Blois.
At an unrelated news conference Tuesday, Premier David Eby said no homes have been lost, and assured residents that crews would "continue to do what is necessary to protect their homes."
Rob Fraser, mayor of Northern Rockies Regional Municipality, which includes Fort Nelson, said Tuesday afternoon that winds were continuing to push the fire south and it's still all hands on deck keeping the flames at bay.
Communities throughout northern B.C. had chipped in with resources to help the town, according to Fraser.
"So many fire trucks have come into the community from ... the north part of the province, all the way down to Houston," he said. "If a house or a structure does catch a fire, we don't have a truck for every house, but we've got quite a few trucks up there."
Fraser believes there are about 50 people remaining in the community, which was put on evacuation order last Friday.
Among them is Bud Streeper, who posted a video update on Tuesday showing some rain falling in the area.
"Definitely not a downpour, but a steady little sprinkle right now," he said in the video, which was posted at 8 a.m. MT.
Fort Nelson is located around 1,000 kilometres north of Vancouver and around 800 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.
Evacuees were initially directed to Fort St. John, about 380 kilometres southeast by road.
That city is also receiving evacuees from the nearby Doig River First Nation after they were ordered to leave their homes Monday due to a wildfire spreading near the community.
As a result, hotels in the city are nearly full and those who are able have been encouraged to head to neighbouring Dawson Creek or Chetwynd, or travel further on to Prince George, another 437 kilometres by road.
'It's a war zone'
The majority of the nearly 4,700 residents in Fort Nelson and the nearby Fort Nelson First Nation evacuated their homes when they were ordered on Friday, heading for communities hundreds of kilometres to the south such as Fort St. John and Prince George.
Rick Seidel, who owns a local construction and trucking company, was one of those who stayed behind to fight the blaze.
"We've had all our equipment ready and all our water trucks were loaded. When the call came we jumped into action," Seidel said in a phone interview with CBC's Radio West on Monday.
Seidel said he has been working with local firefighters to keep the blaze at bay.
"It's really bad. It's a war zone right now," he said.
Looting concerns
Fraser said he has also heard of some minor looting of businesses in the evacuated town, but is confident any thieves will be caught.
"There's only one way in and one way out. Nobody's getting out of here with anything large … because they have to haul it down the Alaska Highway and the police have got the highway blocked off."
The RCMP said some isolated incidents of property crime have been reported in the area and arrests have been made, and those investigations remain active and ongoing.
"During an interface fire the RCMP will continue to provide regular policing service to all parts of the community as long as it is safe to do so," said a statement from Cpl. Madonna Saunderson.
"Criminal activity will not be tolerated in any area."
Saunderson said people with surveillance video capturing criminal activity are encouraged to report it to police.
Other fires burning near Fort Nelson are continuing to cause concern, including the Patry Creek fire to the north, which was last recorded as 343 square kilometres in size, and the Nogah Creek fire to the east, last reported at 606 square kilometres.
Tough start to challenging season
Officials have long been worried about a "challenging" wildfire season this year, as a months-long drought persists provincewide and hot, dry conditions are in the forecast through the summer.
Much of the province is experiencing a record-low snowpack and the drought that has plagued much of the province includes B.C.'s northeast.
This year's early evacuations come on the heels of the 2023 wildfire season, widely regarded as the worst on record for B.C. Tens of thousands of people evacuated from their homes and about 400 structures were destroyed, with more than 28,400 square kilometres of land burned, causing an estimated $720 million in damage.
It was also deadly: two frontline wildfire fighters were killed on the job and four others contracted to the B.C. Wildfire Service were killed in a collision while driving home from their work supporting firefighting efforts.
Additionally, a boy, 9, died of an asthma attack made worse by wildfire smoke.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With files from Jason Peters, Yvette Brend, The Early Edition and the Canadian Press