About 40 firefighters are expected to be deployed today following this weekend’s wildfire near Mackenzie.
The blaze was first reported on Saturday in the Lions Lake area and is currently 47-hectares in size.
“Crews are making good progress on the fire and we expect later today that the status of the fire will be changed from out of control to being held and that being held status indicates that we aren’t expecting the fire to grow anymore and the resources we have available are sufficient,” says Amanda Reynolds, Prince George Fire Information Centre.
Prince George along with the rest of Northern BC and the province for that matter is under a Special Weather Statement from Environment Canada as a result due to the plus 30 temperatures expected over the next 72 hours.
“The forest is dry, we are expecting another couple of hot days of dry weather and people just need to be extra cautious with any burning campfire or category two or three fires.”
She adds there was no lightning in the area at the time of the blaze, so the fire is likely to be human-caused.
The fire temporarily shut down the Highway 39 and 97 junctions.
Reynolds says the smoke from the fire shouldn’t cause any issues to the highway at this point.