Warm, windy weather allows “noteworthy” growth on wildfire north of Fort Nelson

Weather in the Fort Nelson area drove ‘noteworthy growth’ on a fire north of of the Community, according to the BC Wildfire Service.

“In the last two days, we’ve had a significant input from the weather, including low relative humidity, also high temperatures yesterday (Wednesday), approaching 30 in the Fort Nelson area, and strong winds,” said Dave Mackinnon, Fort Nelson Complex Information Officer.

“Today we’re expecting a cold front passage which will bring westerly winds, so from the west, moving towards the east, and also significantly strong.”

Mackinnon said that weather allowed for significant fire growth, notably on fire G90216.

Mackinnon said the fire, which is burning in a remote, non-populated area approximately 62 kilometres north of Fort Nelson, grew approximately 50 kilometres to the North.

“That fire growth is dramatic, it is certainly noteworthy,” he said.

As of 12:15 this afternoon, the BC Wildfire Service estimates the fire is approximately 13,000 hectares in size.

In terms of resources, Mackinnon noted just over 200 firefighters are working in the region.

“Their efforts have been focused where they’ll be the most effective, so where they’ve got the greatest chance of limiting fire growth,” he explained.

“So the fire that I just referenced, number 216, those burning conditions don’t allow us to effectively suppress fire, it’s unsafe for us to put crews there, so a fire like that one won’t have crews on it.”

He added resources are ready to attack new fire starts, should they appear closer to populated areas.

“I’d just like to emphasize that the fires that are burning and showing aggressive fire behaviour in the Fort Nelson area are remote, they are well away from populated areas,”

“At this time we don’t have an elevated risk to communities like Fort Nelson or any of the Indigenous communities nearby. We are very aware that if we had a new start, that would be a priority.”