Evacuation orders issued as winds fan flames of wildfire near B.C.-Alberta border

Akshay Kulkarni · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 03, 2025 6:58 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours ago

New evacuation orders person been issued owed to the Kiskatinaw River wildfire adjacent the B.C.-Alberta borderline successful northeastern B.C. connected Tuesday, successful summation to erstwhile orders for 55 properties issued precocious past week.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the fire covered an country of conscionable nether 40 quadrate kilometres, and is 1 of B.C.'s 2 "wildfires of note" — those that are peculiarly disposable oregon airs a menace to nationalist information — the different being the Summit Lake wildfire successful the acold north.

Highway 52 East remains closed successful the area due to the blaze, which is burning close to the Pembina Steeprock gas processing facility.

The B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) says that the wildfire is acceptable to acquisition "significant maturation successful the coming days", with winds up to 60 km/h pushing the occurrence north, southbound and eastbound towards Kelly Lake and the B.C.-Alta. borderline by Friday.

"With comparative humidity dropping beneath 20 [per cent], daytime temperatures successful the 20s, and strong, persistent winds, assertive and challenging occurrence behaviour is expected," the work said successful an online update. 

The eastbound flank of the blaze is 1 of the astir hard areas to power owed to "wind-driven occurrence enactment and volatile fuels," according to the update, with the BCWS saying operation extortion instrumentality has been staged astatine properties successful the Kelly Lake area.

In a connection sent conscionable earlier 7 p.m. PT, the Peace River Regional District said the caller evacuation bid was issued owed to contiguous information to beingness and safety.

Evacuees person been asked to registry astatine the City of Dawson Creek.

North of Kiskatinaw River, the Fort Nelson First Nation issued an evacuation alert Tuesday for its Fontas reserve, wherever 3 wildfires are burning adjacent Sikanni Old Growth Park.

The federation says the country southeast of Fort Nelson, B.C., includes 1 inhabited location and "many taste sites."

Drivers asked to program ahead

Meanwhile, the Summit Lake wildfire has forced the closure of the Alaska Highway (Highway 97) successful some directions westbound of Fort Nelson, and drivers successful the portion person been asked to cheque conditions and program ahead.

The Summit Lake wildfire, which grew overnight and present covers 26.3 quadrate kilometres, was archetypal discovered connected May 28, but grew aggressively betwixt Sunday and Monday, prompting a road closure for overmuch of Monday.

While the Alaska Highway partially reopened to let single-lane alternating postulation astir 9:30 p.m. PT connected Monday, it was closed again astir 12 p.m. PT connected Tuesday owed to the blaze. Commuters person been asked to cheque DriveBC for the latest connected the stretch, with nary detour available.

An evacuation alert remains successful spot for a agelong of the road successful the Tetsa Lake area, with the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality (NRRM) informing radical determination to beryllium acceptable to permission astatine a moment's notice.

The B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) said successful an online update that, portion maintaining entree to the captious Highway 97 agelong was a priority, the information of crews and the nationalist was its superior objective.

"This wildfire experienced maturation overnight; nary of the maturation was successful the absorption of Highway 97 oregon toward identified assets," the Tuesday update reads. "Weather volition proceed to person impacts connected occurrence behaviour and road access."

The BCWS said successful its update that it conducted a planned ignition connected Monday to bounds the wildfire's interaction connected the highway, and larger planned ignitions would beryllium conducted connected Tuesday.

"The conditions are incredibly challenging and the terrain is precise tough," occurrence accusation serviceman Madison Dahl said connected CBC's Radio West Tuesday afternoon.

"It's precise mountainous. It's beautiful, but it is precise mountainous," she added. "It's incredibly hard to navigate. So, we are relying rather heavy connected craft astatine this time."

Rob Fraser, the politician of the NRRM, said determination were a fig of wildfires threatening evacuation routes successful and astir Fort Nelson — which is located astir 1,050 kilometres northeast of Vancouver.

Some of those fires, according to the politician and the wildfire service, burned underneath the snowfall done the wintertime months and reignited this outpouring owed to blistery and adust conditions.

"It's beauteous wide these fires are rather a ways away, although, you know, shutting the road down starts to marque radical a small spot tense astir our evacuation routes," helium told CBC's Radio West. 

Sarah Budd, a BCWS occurrence accusation officer, said that the bulk of wildfire enactment was occurring successful the bluish fractional of the province, peculiarly the northeast corner. As of Tuesday afternoon, determination were conscionable nether 70 fires burning successful B.C.

"In the northeast, wherever we person the bulk of our existent occurrence activity, we are expecting somewhat higher winds contiguous and tomorrow," she told CBC News connected Tuesday.

"And with importantly higher winds connected Thursday and Friday into the weekend, portion we don't expect lightning oregon precipitation contiguous oregon tomorrow, what we bash deliberation we're going to spot is an hold of ... hot, dry, windy conditions."