Wildfire triggers evacuation alert in Endako, B.C.

A BC Wildfire Service map shows the approximate location of a fire that triggered an evacuation alert on Sunday, April 21.

An entire small community in B.C. was put on evacuation alert Sunday due to an out-of-control wildfire less than a kilometre away.

The fire had grown to 25 hectares in size as of Sunday afternoon, and it’s burning just outside Endako, located along Highway 16 roughly 150 kilometres west of Prince George.

The blaze is suspected to be human-caused, according to the BC Wildfire Service.

The Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako issued the alert at 3:30 p.m., telling residents they must be prepared to leave their homes at a moment’s notice.

A map from the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako shows the area on evacuation alert. Smoke is visible from parts of Fraser Lake, Endako and the highway, BCWS wrote on social media.

BCWS says its own personnel are attacking the fire along with community wildfire responders, and heavy equipment and a helicopter have been sent to the scene. The agency added that a structure protection specialist is en route to the community.

The fire is getting a “full” response from crews. “The BC Wildfire Service uses a full response when there is threat to public safety and/or property and other values, such as infrastructure or timber. Immediate action is taken. During a full response, a wildfire is suppressed and controlled until it is deemed ‘out,’” BCWS explains on its website.

Three more out-of-control wildfires burned in the Prince George Fire Centre Sunday.

One of them is eight hectares in size and is located about four kilometres east of Vanderhoof. Smoke can be seen from the community and Highway 16. That fire is also suspected to be human-caused.

Meanwhile, crews are fighting a number of fires in the Cariboo Fire Centre, one of which grew to 1,600 hectares Sunday.

Category 2 and 3 fire bans are in place for both fire centres.

The #BCWildfire Service continues to respond to wildfire G40119 in the VanJam zone. This wildfire is located approximately 750 metres west of Endako and is currently estimated at 25 hectares in size. pic.twitter.com/dFt31hNLhR

— BC Wildfire Service (@BCGovFireInfo) April 21, 2024