Northeastern B.C. wildfire grows as evacuations return north of Fort St. John

The British Columbia Wildfire Service says a blaze north of Fort St. John has grown significantly, forcing renewed evacuation orders and alerts.

The service website says the Donnie Creek wildfire charred an additional 275 square kilometres over the weekend.

The fire, approximately 160 kilometres north of Fort St. John, remains out of control and is estimated to have burned a total of 1,575 square kilometres of trees and bush since it was sparked by lightning on May 12.

Evacuation orders were issued Sunday by both the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality and the Peace River Regional District for remote areas primarily used by oil and gas industry infrastructure and camps.

The Northern Rockies Municipality says its order is in response to changes in weather in the Klua Lakes area east of Highway 97, while the regional district order plus an alert along the southern flank of the fire reflect the risk to work camps.

Large sections of coastal B.C., the central Interior and the northeast are now rated at a high to extreme wildfire danger as the weather office calls for a sunny, drying trend, and the wildfire service warns of possibly “significant fire activity” in parts of the province this week.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 29, 2023.