B.C. wildfires continue to burn as wet weather approaches

Jul 27, 2023

The wildfire situation in northeastern B.C. remains largely unchanged Saturday, but two large fires north of Fort St. John continue to burn.

The Beatton Airport Road fires continues to be about 12,000 hectares in size with its closest point remaining 45 kilometres away from Fort St. John.

It had been listed as 85 per cent contained, but B.C. Wildfire Service says that number is now inaccurate since the fire merged with the nearby Stoddard Road fire on Thursday night. Crews are re-assessing both the fire's size and level of containment today.

The fire near Siphon Creek, about 90 km northeast of Fort St. John, grew slightly overnight. It's now estimated to be about 24,000 hectares in size, up from the 17,000 hectares estimated the day before. Crews say most of that growth was to the north and east as wind gusts pushed the fire further into Alberta.

The two fires have together resulted in about 1,000 people being displaced.

Crews say cooler weather hit the area overnight and that similar weather today could reduce the growth of those fires.

"We are anticipating a cloudier day with a chance of showers [and] some winds in the afternoon," said Emily Epp, fire information officer for the Cariboo Fire Centre.

"How the weather will affect the fires will depend on whether they get any of that forecasted rain. We're anticipating some rain tomorrow as well."

Epp says the province is urging the public to follow all open-burning prohibitions.

"The majority of the fires in the Prince George Fire Centre have been human-caused and due to open burning," said Epp. "We've also handed over about 10 fires to conservation officers as arson investigations."

There are currently about 80 wildfires burning in the province.