Lightning sparks number of fires around Northwest BC

The BC Wildfire Service Map marks the areas of note from
some recent lightning strikes which have sparked fires in the Northwest

Heading into the Canada Day weekend it will be a busy period for those tasked to battle the growing number of forest and wildfires currently burning in the province, with some weather over the last few days adding a number of Northwest fires to the list.

Those who may be travelling east bound through the Skeena and Bulkley Valley regions may notice an increase in smoke and traffic on the roads as crews respond to areas of concern through the weekend.

The spark to the increase of fires of note for the region came with a weather system on Wednesday that delivered a number of lightning strikes, starting seven fires across the Northwest from Rosswood and to points to the east.

Among the fires listed were two in the Skeena Fire Zone:

A fire 12.5 kilometres to the northwest of Rosswood on the shores of Kitsumkalum Lake and another located 12.5 kilometres Northwest of Meziadin Junction.

Four fires were reported in the Bulkley Fire Zone:

A fire 3.5 kilometres north of the Smithers airport, as well as another 22 kilometres north of the Airport near Trout Creek.

Another Fire was reported some 40 kilometres north of Hazelton, along with a fire located five kilometres Southwest of Witset near John Brown Creek.

Rounding out the initial list from Wednesday's weather is a fire in the Nadina Fire Zone located seven kilometres east of Morice Lake

Background on those fires can be explored further here.

With more unsettled weather expected in the area, the Wildfire Service will be keeping an eye on the forests over the weekend and issue updates as required. They also are urging those who will be out in the woods, or travelling through the area to be extra attentive to their campsites and ensure that any fires that they may start are fully extinguished.

The current rating for the region is that of a Yellow  maening  a Moderate risk

You can access that information from their website as well as from a Facebook Page and twitter feed that they offer.

The BC Wildfire Service also hosts an Interactive map which provides details on fire incidents across the province, you can access that resource here.

As more information becomes available about the situation you can find updated notes from our archive page here.

For more items of interest related to the work of Emergency responders see our archive page.


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