Smoke from the Donnie Creek Wildfire, southeast of Fort Nelson is now highly visible along Highway 97.
According to the BC Wildfire Service, traffic is not being impacted but drivers should be aware the smoke might quite dense in some areas.
The Donnie Creek blaze, which is well over 344 thousand hectares joined forces with the Holman Creek fire yesterday (Wednesday).
Fire Information Officer, Julia Caranci told Vista Radio Mother Nature is not cooperating with their mitigation efforts, a trend that will likely continue in the short term.
“This is a project fire, it is a very large fire, and at this time due to the weather conditions and the type of fuels, we are seeing an increase in the size of the fire and that will likely carry on over the next couple of days.”
“We did see significant fire behaviour on the Holman Creek wildfire and the southern flank of the Donnie Creek wildfire, which did compromise some existing containment lines and the Holman Creek fire has now joined with Donnie Creek.”
An Area Restriction Order for the Donnie Creek Complex will be put into place today (Thursday).
“And that will be done in order to protect the public in areas where there are ongoing fire suppression efforts and where there is active dangerous fire in some areas,” added Caranci.
There are 79 wildfires burning in BC, 52 of which are in the Prince George Fire Centre – three of which are of note.
The area restriction order for the Donnie Creek Complex is as follows:
Starting at the intersection of Highway 97 (Alaska Highway) and Buckinghorse River at coordinate A then heading north along Highway 97 to the intersection of Highway 97 and the Prophet River. Then moving southeasterly to Fontas Road, south to the intersection with Wildmint Connector Road.
A person must not remain in or enter the restricted area without the prior written authorization of an official designated for the purposes of the Wildfire Act, unless the person enters the area only in the course of:
(a) Travelling to or from his or her residence;
(b) Using a highway as defined in the Highway Act;
(c) Travelling through or entering the area as a person acting in an official capacity;
(d) Travelling through or entering the area for an approved purpose of supporting wildfire suppression activities; or
(e) Operating a commercial or industrial operation within one kilometre of the Alaska Highway including the allowance of public access to these locations.
It will remain in place until September 30th or until the order is rescinded.
Failure to comply with Section 11 restricted area requirements may result in a violation ticket for $1,150.
However, an updated Evacuation Alert has been issued due to the potential danger the wildfire could cause.
The Evacuation Alert area applies to:
ï‚· 1km East of Sikanni Creek south on Highway 97 north to Pink Mountain,
ï‚· Due East to a point where it intersects with West Milligan Creek,
ï‚· Due North 24kms to location,
ï‚· West to point of intersection (Sikanni Creek 1km east of Highway 97)