The Battleship Mountain wildfire of note has successfully been pushed back from the community of Hudson’s Hope, and the area restriction has been lifted today.
There are still over 100 firefighters on scene attending to the fire, which is still estimated at over 30,000 hectares in size.
The evacuation order also lifted on Saturday (September 17), and the residents of Hudson’s Hope have returned home from Fort St. John.
“The order was lifted around 7:00 on Saturday” Hudson’s Hope’s mayor Dave Heiberg told My PG Now. “The evacuees were gone for just about a full week. I think everyone is pretty relived and happy to be back in town.”
He says to his knowledge, there was not a single building, structure, farm or livestock damaged or hurt by the fire.
“The community was pretty much in tact when everybody came back – with clear skies, it was pretty nice.”
Heiberg said his life as mayor has been hectic through this process, but he has continually been wowed by the response from his community and those rallying together to support it.
“There’s so many people to thank… I was told by the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) director that this was the second largest structural protection operation in BC history.”
He says there were 22 fire departments, 4 structural protection units, 5 or 6 different RCMP jurisdictions, and the community of Fort St. John all either helping the community or fighting the fire.
Heiberg closed by saying “we would do the very same thing for any other community.”
Taylor Colman, a Fire Information Officer with the Prince George Fire Centre, says they are not “anticipating any further risks to Hudson’s Hope,” adding that conditions and winds could change, but it is unlikely.
The Fire Centre is asking travelers in the area to stay alert, as dead, burnt “danger” trees are more likely to fall on roadways.
For more information on the fire, click here.
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