Despite cooler, wet weather throughout the Peace over the weekend, authorities caution the wildfires are still burning strong, and with a return to warm temperatures this week they could still see some growth.
Burnout operations are in store for the three major wildfires of note that continue to wreak havoc on the North Peace, including the wildfires at Siphon Creek, Beatton Airport Road and Carter Road.
Click here for a map of wildfires burning in British Columbia
The Siphon Creek wildfire, located four kilometres south of the Doig River First Nations community, sits at an estimated 58,630 hectares as of Monday morning.
Cool weather prevented the fire from growing on Sunday, and because there wasn’t as much smoke, officials say fire crews were able to establish a better perimeter of the fire and strategize their approach for the coming week, as well as get a more accurate estimate of the size of the fire.
“I can happily say that yesterday the fire did not grow, but today the sun is shining and ... the high (temperature) is trying to build again,” said Noelle Kekula, fire information officer in charge of the Siphon Creek wildfire.
The wildfire received nine millimeters of precipitation over the weekend.
“Everything we are using to our advantage right now, for as long as we can, and we’re just preparing to use equipment and everything to just keep working on containment lines and trying to strengthen some containment lines.”
While the fire did not grow over the course of Sunday, “it still kept trying to ... they still saw open flame and everything yesterday, even in that weather,” Kekula said.
Residents shouldn’t let their guard down, she advised, adding that the open burning prohibition is still in effect in the Fort St. John area.
If conditions are favourable, crews plan to burn areas ahead of the fire line later this week to eliminate fuel on the ground, and prevent the fire from spreading.
Of the 58,630-hectare wildfire, 41,470 hectares are in B.C. and 17,160 hectares in Alberta. Alberta was said to have joined firefighting efforts on its side of the border Sunday, however, officials couldn’t be reached for comment.
Beatton Airport Road
Similar planned burning operations are in store for the Beatton Airport Road fire, which sits at 15,000 hectares around 45 kilometres north of the city.
“We do know that it is fairly cool and still damp, it will take a few days for that fire to get back into the condition it was before,” said Marg Drysdale, fire information officer for the Beatton Airport Road fire.
If and when the hot and dry conditions return and the area dries out once again, crews will burn ahead of the fire area “in order to get rid of some unwanted fuels in the area,” she said.
The Alaska Highway, which was closed in both directions at Mile 73 last week and then opened to piloted cars only, was fully open as of Sunday night. There is no longer any travel advisory for the highway.
Crews are using heavy equipment to strengthen and establish control lines, and are “working on the ground on whatever mop-up that can be done,” Drysdale said.
Authorities are asking the public who must travel through the area to slow down, as there are crews and equipment working there.
“We don’t want any accidents to occur,” said Drysdale.
People who don’t have to be in the area are asked to stay away so there isn’t “too much increased traffic” in the area.
Open burning is still prohibited in the Fort St. John area.
“We do not need to be contending in the next few days with any new fire starts with all of this that’s going on, so we’re asking people to please follow the prohibition ... please don’t be doing any debris burning, burn barrels, any of that kind of stuff,” Drysdale said.
Anyone who sees someone burning on their property is encouraged to call the Report All Poachers and Polluters (RAPP) line at 1-877-952-7277.
Carter Road
Meanwhile, the Carter Road wildfire is burning about 10 kilometres northwest of Hudson’s Hope, and sits at 450 hectares.
According to fire information officer Amanda Reynolds, “crews are making good progress on this fire,” which is 50 per cent contained.
Like the Siphon Creek and Beatton Airport Road wildfires, the Carter Road fire received some precipitation over the weekend. However, Reynolds cautioned that the week’s forecast is for sunny conditions that are warm, with increased winds gusting later in the week to 50 to 60 km/hr.
Crews battling the blaze at Carter Road are also discussing the possibility of doing some burn off later in the week, Reynolds said.
Halfway River
On Monday morning, the BC Wildfire Service classified a 1,423-hectare fire burning on the Halfway River as a wildfire of note. The fire is 30 kilometres east of Hudson's Hope on the west side of the river.
According to BC Wildfire Service, 42 firefighters, five helicopters and eight pieces of heavy equipment are working on containment, and reported to be making progress on the perimeter of the fire. There are also 15 support staff involved.
"A fire camp and Incident Management Team have been established in Hudson's Hope to co-ordinate the response on this fire and the Carter Road fire," the wildfire service said. “The decision to move resources to Hudson's Hope was a logistical one as it reduces travel distances for fire fighters working on the fires within the region, and does not represent any response to an increased risk to the community."\
Tips sought in arson investigations
The Conservation Officer Service says it has brought in officers from across the province to help investigate whether 10 of the wildfires in the region were deliberately set.
However, the agency would not say what fires are under arson investigation.
Chris Posthuma says officers are investigating 10 fires sparked in three areas around Fort St. John.
"As of right now, we're looking for all information regarding the whole area," he said.
Anyone with information regarding possible arson-caused fires in the Peace Region are asked to call the RAPP line at 1-877-952-7277.
Tips can be made anonymously.
