'We are in the core fire season': Wildfire worries grow in B.C.

Extremely volatile and rapidly evolving. That’s how the wildfire situation is being described in the Peace River region, where there are expanded evacuation orders in some areas.

Officials say wildfire conditions in B.C. are expected to intensify in coming days.

“We’re seeing drying of our fuels everywhere,” said Cliff Chapman, director of operations for B.C. Wildfire Service.

“Yes, the fire hazard is significant and extreme in the northeast part of the province. Slowly but surely through the week, we’re seeing that hazard all the way down to the south,” he added. "We are in the core fire season."

Fire bans will come into effect across the province by Thursday.

About 400 firefighters are now battling several wildfires in the Peace region, including one that is about 20 kilometres away from Fort St. John, where roughly 21,000 residents are on evacuation alert. Fortunately, the fire is now moving away from the community.

The mayor says residents are taking it in stride.

“I’ve seen people out walking their dogs, out pushing their grandkids in a carriage and I’ve also seen other people packing up their trailers out of an abundance of caution. They’re just trying to get ready as the city requested,” said Lilia Hansen, the mayor of Fort St. John.

Though Hansen said residents can still smell the smoke, she’s optimistic.

“We’re going to be fine. Things are going good here,” she said.

About 200 evacuees from other communities were originally sent to Fort St. John, but the city is no longer able to take anyone. People forced from their homes are being sent to areas like Dawson Creek and Prince George.

On Monday, the area saw winds gusting up to 60 km/h, forcing firefighting efforts to be put on hold.

“Visibility was poor, fire behavior was aggressive. It’s not safe to keep our crews out there so we did pull all our crews off the line around 4 o’clock yesterday (Monday) afternoon,” said Hannah Swift, a fire information officer with B.C. Wildfire Service.

She said there are three massive fires in the region that have collectively burned more than 27,000 hectares.

“We have a very short window of reprieve here," Swift said. "By Wednesday, moving into Thursday, we are seeing another upper ridge track through north of B.C., and it is going to bring back the abnormally hot and dry temperatures that we’ve been seeing over the last week."

On Tuesday, Peace River Regional District expanded an evacuation order for the Donnie Creek and Tommy Lakes areas.