Growing wildfire in central B.C. believed to be human-caused
Posted May 11, 2019 6:40 pm.
Last Updated May 13, 2019 11:03 am.
CENTRAL B.C. (NEWS 1130) — A wildfire that broke out Saturday has led to a regional state of emergency being declared for a rural community west of Prince George.
The fire west of Fraser Lake grew to 260 hectares within hours, and evacuation orders are now in place.
#BREAKING: A wildfire in Fraser Lake has now led to calling for a local state of emergency (Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako, Fraser Lake) and an evacuation order for Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako near #PrinceGeorge. @NEWS1130 https://t.co/DzXfUtYjaK #BCWildfire pic.twitter.com/1rMiQeAwXg
— Lauren Boothby (@laurby) May 12, 2019
Investigators believe it was human caused.
About 20 firefighters are battling the blaze along with air tankers.
Evacuations are getting underway as a fire is breaking out in Northern B.C. near Fraser Lake. There's a lot of smoke rising over the mountains. (Thanks Stephen Rehncy for the photos) @NEWS1130 pic.twitter.com/Wy4vDybn5Z
— Lauren Boothby (@laurby) May 12, 2019
“It is a large area that the evacuation order covers, but there aren’t that many homes. There are only about a half dozen homes. RCMP and search and rescue teams administered the evacuation orders,” says Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako chair Gerry Thiessen.
“Well certainly the fire came up quite quickly. It started out small. With the wind it gathered momentum.”
He says another 30 homes have been placed on evacuation alert.
He is struck by how early the fire season started this year.
“Right now we seem to be seeing fires earlier and earlier. I think this is one of the earliest fires of this size and magnitude.”
Stephen Rehncy spoke to NEWS 1130 about the growing cloud of smoke he saw about an hour south of Burns Lake.
“I am seeing a huge massive fire over the mountains, it’s really thick, dark grey to reddish-bluish smoke. It looks like it’s getting bigger and bigger,” he says. “Where the sun was shining, all the smoke is now starting to cover the sun.”
Another look at the fire near #FraserLake, sent in from a listener (Stephen Rehncy). #PrinceGeorge @NEWS1130 pic.twitter.com/n9v0Hdrg0o
— Lauren Boothby (@laurby) May 12, 2019
He was driving down Highway 16 out of Burns Lake when he saw the smoke.
“I’m seeing it all right now. The whole sky that started to turn dark as one cloud of the mountains,” he says. “As I’m speaking to you, it’s getting worse.”
The #BCWildfire Service is responding to the Lejac wildfire located 5 km east of the community of Fraser Lake. The Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako is in the process of implementing evacuation alerts and orders for some areas. They will be posted here: https://t.co/ZfwgNIQUhB pic.twitter.com/59I4f2cOjL
— BC Wildfire Service (@BCGovFireInfo) May 12, 2019
Molly Blower from the Prince George Fire Centre says crews are moving in.
“It is highly visible from the community of Fraser Lake and from Highway 16,” she says.
The area on fire is a mixture of both grass and timber.
Vanderhoof and Burns Lake, two towns in the area, saw record-breaking temperatures this past week.