Three uncontrolled wildfires near B.C.-Alberta boundary force evacuations

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This article was published 06/05/2023 (1229 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MCBRIDE, B.C. – Three separate out-of-control wildfires burning near the boundary between British Columbia and Alberta, including two in the Peace River region, have prompted evacuation orders and an alert.

The Peace River Regional District has ordered the immediate evacuation of residents near the Red Creek wildfire, covering 1,550 hectares directly northwest of Fort St. John, B.C., about 1,200 kilometres northeast of Vancouver.

The evacuation order covers 61 homes in the region, and residents are advised to evacuate the area immediately to Fort St. John to access Emergency Support Services.

Meanwhile, Goodlow, B.C., and the surrounding region are also under a Peace River Regional District evacuation order due to the threat of the 1,900 hectare Boundary Lake fire.

The evacuation order of the Boundary Lake wildfire — located about 670 kilometres northwest of Edmonton — has been expanded “as a result of aggressive fire behavior.”

A third blaze, the 1,100-hectare Teare Creek wildfire about 700 kilometres to the south of the Boundary Lake and Red Creek fires, has forced the village of McBride to declare a local state of emergency.

The Regional District of Fraser-Fort George has ordered all residents of properties north of McBride Highway 16 and along Mountain View Road north of the Fraser River to immediately evacuate the area.

Properties south of McBride Highway 16 within the village of McBride, and those within five kilometres of the village boundary are under an evacuation alert, meaning residents must be prepared to leave with little to no notice.

All three fires appear to have been started through “human causes,” according to the BC Wildfire Service.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 6, 2023.