Evacuation orders issued for remote parts of northern B.C. due to wildfire | CBC News

Two regional districts have issued evacuation orders in a sparsely populated part of northern B.C. due to the Donnie Creek fire, one of the largest fires that remains burning out of control in the province.

The Donnie Creek blaze, burning southeast of Fort Nelson, covers an area of nearly 1,360 square kilometres (136,000 hectares) as of Sunday afternoon.

In a statement, the Peace River Regional District says the order — which had been dialed down to an alert a few weeks ago due to improving weather conditions in the area — had been put back in place due to new recommendations from the B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWFS).

The Northern Rockies Regional Municipality has also issued evacuation orders and alerts due to the nearby Klua Lakes fire, which is considered part of the Donnie Creek fire complex.

“There was a big uptick in fire activity Saturday,” said Bryan Zandberg, a fire information officer with the BCWS. “We had a very dry air mass in the area and we had significant winds pushing through the area coming from the south and southwest.

“The area that we’re in is kind of a smattering of different forest fuels. One of them is very volatile, one called black spruce,” he added. “The winds and some of the environmental factors were such that fire was able to connect with some new fuels and make some isolated runs, in kind of that big remote area where we’re working right now.”

The wildfire service says that “columns of smoke” are likely to be highly visible along Highway 97 in the north due to the Donnie Creek fire, B.C.’s only “fire of note” — which means it is particularly visible or poses a public safety risk. 

Zandberg says the fire is burning close to oil and gas infrastructure and may be impacting work camps in the area, though it’s unclear exactly how many people are impacted by the evacuation orders. It is also an area used by the forestry industry.

CBC News has reached out to both regional authorities for more on how many people are affected.

An evacuation alert means residents should prepare to evacuate their homes, possibly with little to no notice. An evacuation order means a resident should leave immediately.