Fraser Lake Mayor Sarrah Storey was driving back from a soccer tournament out of town when she saw the skyline transformed by a wildfire creeping up a mountain on the edge of her central British Columbia community. The blaze grew from four hectares Saturday morning to 260 hectares that night, prompting a local state of emergency and several evacuations for an area about 140 kilometres west of Prince George. “We drove into pretty much a big huge, smoky billowing cloud and you could see the flames,” Storey said in a phone interview Sunday. Story continues below advertisement The Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako issued a state of emergency Saturday night and ordered people to leave an area near the community of Lejac, about five kilometres east of Fraser Lake. District chairman Gerry Thiessen said the evacuation area affected only about half a dozen permanent homes, while an evacuation alert means about 40 others nearby have to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice. But both the evacuation order and alert were rescinded Sunday night. As of Sunday afternoon, the BC Wildfire Service said the fire was considered 70 per cent “guarded” but zero per cent contained. Thirty firefighters, three helicopters and 15 pieces of heavy equipment had knocked the blaze down to 236 hectares. About half of the province is under “high” fire danger, meaning forest fuels are very dry and the risk of fire is serious. The wildfire service was also battling a six-hectare blaze 25 kilometres from downtown Kamloops with air tankers and helicopters, as well as a nine-hectare fire northwest of Charlie Lake on Sunday. The wildfire service said in a tweet Sunday afternoon that no structures were threatened by the Kamloops blaze but traffic would be affected. The cause of the Lejac fire remains under investigation, but Thiessen said that with no recent lightning in the area it appears to have been human-caused. Story continues below advertisement Thiessen said he first received a call at around 4 p.m. when the fire had scorched about four hectares, and it grew to 65 times that size by the evening. “We had pretty significant winds yesterday and that was a big concern,” Thiessen said in a phone interview Sunday. After returning to Fraser Lake, Storrey said she visited a home two minutes out of town on Saturday night to bring water and supplies to fire crews. The water bombers and helicopters had been grounded after nightfall but crews were piping water from a small lake to fight the blaze on the ground. “There were tiny little fires everywhere, the ground was pretty charred and the trees were gone,” she said, adding that flames were still “shooting up” and cresting another hill above. “It’s hard to watch,” she said. “You’re just hoping the crews on the frontline are staying safe and the wind dies down.” The fire has been concentrated on a mountain above Lejac, which is the site of a former residential school and a destination for hundreds of Catholics who make annual pilgrimmages to the grave of Rose Prince, a former student credited with miracles. Story continues below advertisement By Sunday afternoon, it had not touched Lejac or crossed a highway toward the Fraser Lake sawmill, which is the village’s major employer. With winds dying down, crews were optimistic about containing the blaze, Storey said. But wildfires are no longer a surprise for residents of the region, which was sandwiched between major fires during British Columbia’s record-breaking fire seasons in 2018 and 2017. “We’re not calling it summer anymore, we’re calling it ‘fire season’,” Storey said. “We’re just really lucky both years that we haven’t lost structures or lives or anything major.” Thiessen said he’s concerned the season seems to be getting longer. Growing up in the region, he said wildfires typically only occurred in July and August. And this year, he said the region is vulnerable. A dry winter and spring means there’s low snowpack and he said debris piles burned by farmers and loggers in the fall could provide fuel for future fires. Story continues below advertisement He encouraged back country users to be vigilant. “We haven’t had any significant snow or rain since almost Christmas so that’s a real concern for us,” he said. “This is very unusual and it’s concerning and I just hope people are careful as we go through this summer.”<doc-sep>Send this page to someone via email A wildfire in B.C.’s Central Interior — that fire officials believe to be human-caused — has quickly grown to 236 hectares in size. B.C. Wildfire Service said the fire began spreading Saturday, and is burning roughly five kilometres east of Fraser Lake, which sits west of Prince George. The #BCWildfire Service is responding to the Lejac wildfire located 5 km east of the community of Fraser Lake. The Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako is in the process of implementing evacuation alerts and orders for some areas. They will be posted here: https://t.co/ZfwgNIQUhB pic.twitter.com/59I4f2cOjL — BC Wildfire Service (@BCGovFireInfo) May 12, 2019 On Saturday night, the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako declared a local state of emergency. People living in roughly a dozen properties near the fire are also being told to leave their homes, and many more have been put on evacuation alerts. Those south of Highway 16 to south of Roys Lake; West and East of Seaspunkut 4 (Lejac) are under evacuation orders are asked to leave immediately. Story continues below advertisement #Evacuation Order & Alert issued by the RD Bulkley-Nechako due to #BCwildfire near community of #FraserLake. Order for area south of #BCHwy16 to south of Roys Lake. Alert for area south of #BCHwy16 to south of Klez Lake. Details & map here: https://t.co/ZEM1Oae2kD — Emergency Info BC (@EmergencyInfoBC) May 12, 2019 Molly Blower from B.C. Wildfire Service says at this time, the fire is suspected to be human-caused. WATCH: (Aired May 9) Growing concerns about 2019 fire season 1:40 Growing concerns about 2019 fire season Growing concerns about 2019 fire season – May 9, 2019 Forty firefighters are on site along with two air tankers. More resources are being called in as the fire as now swelled in size. On Sunday, officials said the fire is 70 per cent guarded but is considered to be zero per cent contained. Residents in the area who sent pictures to Global News said the fire appears to be spreading quickly, describing lots of smoke in the air. View image in gallery mode A wildfire burning near Fraser Lake in B.C. 's central interior Saturday, May 11, 2019. Courtesy Nick Sedmak View image in gallery mode A wildfire burning near Fraser Lake in B.C. 's central interior Saturday, May 11, 2019. Courtesy Nick Sedmak View image in gallery mode A wildfire burning near Fraser Lake in B.C. 's central interior Saturday, May 11, 2019. Courtesy Nick Sedmak View image in gallery mode A wildfire burning near Fraser Lake in B.C. 's central interior Saturday, May 11, 2019. Courtesy Nick Sedmak BC Hydro reported nearly 20,000 customers in the region were without power Saturday afternoon due to a transmission circuit failure. Story continues below advertisement Those outages included parts of Fraser Lake along with Houston, Prince Rupert and Smithers. Crews will be responding to large outages affecting northwest BC including #PrinceRupert #HoustonBC #Smithers #Telkwa. The latest info will be on our mobile site as available: https://t.co/lERJzJrkE4 pic.twitter.com/1N2fNECckm — BC Hydro (@bchydro) May 11, 2019 BC Hydro wouldn’t say whether the outages were connected to the wildfire. Another wildfire was discovered Saturday north of Fort St. John in the Charlie Lake area, which B.C. Wildfire Service said was less than a hectare in size. — With files from Erin Ubels<doc-sep>A quickly growing wildfire west of Prince George, B.C., has prompted a state of emergency and evacuation orders for some homes. The B.C. Wildfire Service says it was notified of a wildfire burning near Fraser Lake and Lejac, along Highway 16 around 3 p.m. PT Saturday. At 8:30 p.m. the fire had grown to 100 hectares in size, and by late Saturday night it had reached 260 hectares. Around 20 firefighters are working to contain the blaze, which is currently described as being out of control and most likely human-caused. The service also used air tankers to drop fire retardant on the flames. The #BCWildfire Service is responding to the Lejac wildfire located 5 km east of the community of Fraser Lake. The Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako is in the process of implementing evacuation alerts and orders for some areas. They will be posted here: https://t.co/ZfwgNIQUhB pic.twitter.com/59I4f2cOjL —@BCGovFireInfo State of emergency Around 9 p.m. the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako called a state of emergency and issued an evacuation order for all properties south of Highway 16 to Roys Lake, west and east of Seaspunkut (Lejac). It did not say how many homes were being evacuated. Looks like forest fire haze has now reached Prince George, B.C. pic.twitter.com/VsocnhfD7Y —@wilfundal The district also issued an evacuation alert for the area South of Highway 16 to south of Klez Lake and east of Drywilliam Lake. More information about the orders can be found on the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako website. 'We're not ready for this' Fraser Lake Mayor Sarrah Storey said the fire was very visible from the community and described the flames as "impressive." She also said that several people in her community were surprised to see a fire like this so early in the season. "We're not ready for this," she said. Residents in Prince George said Saturday evening they could smell smoke from the fire and see a hazy horizon at sunset.<doc-sep>28 firefighters with helicopter support are on-site at the Richter Creek fire Article content B.C. Wildfire Service crews are battling a 15-hectare wildfire near Osoyoos. A total of 28 firefighters with helicopter support are on-site at the Richter Creek fire, located 12 kilometres west of Osoyoos and adjacent to Highway 3. We apologize, but this video has failed to load. tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Crews respond to wildfire west of Osoyoos Back to video The B.C. Wildfire Service lists the fire as out-of-control although no structures are being threatened at this point. Officials suspect the fire was human-caused. There are currently 22 wildfires burning across B.C., but only one, the 236-hectare Lejac blaze, is considered a fire of note by the B.C. Wildfire Service. The Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako issued a state of emergency Saturday night and ordered people to leave an area near the community of Lejac, about five kilometres east of Fraser Lake. That fire is listed as 70 per cent guarded – which means 70 per cent of the fire is being managed either manually or mechanically – and zero per cent contained. The blaze has been concentrated on a mountain above Lejac. “At this time the fire is suspected to be human-caused,” said B.C. Wildfire Service spokeswoman Molly Blower.<doc-sep>
Share this Story: Human-caused wildfire near Fraser Lake grows to 260 hectares Human-caused wildfire near Fraser Lake grows to 260 hectares By Sunday morning, the fire had grown to 260 hectares. As of 10 a.m. Sunday, the fire was 70 per cent guarded – which means 70 per cent of the fire is being managed either manually or mechanically – and 0 per cent contained. Photo by B.C. WILDFIRE SERVICE / HANDOUT / PNG Article content B.C.’s wildfire season appears to have started earlier than usual with a quickly growing wildfire near Fraser Lake. The blaze, discovered Saturday afternoon about five kilometres west of the lake, is believed to be human-caused. We apologize, but this video has failed to load. tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Human-caused wildfire near Fraser Lake grows to 260 hectares Back to video Winds and high temperatures over the weekend created ideal conditions for the fire to grow. Dubbed the Lejac wildfire, the blaze quickly grew from 100 hectares Saturday evening to 260 hectares on Sunday, according to the B.C. Wildfire Service. As of 10 a.m. Sunday, the fire was 70 per cent guarded – which means 70 per cent of the fire is being managed either manually or mechanically – and zero per cent contained. The blaze has been concentrated on a mountain above Lejac. “At this time the fire is suspected to be human-caused,” said B.C. Wildfire Service spokeswoman Molly Blower. Regional district chairman Gerry Thiessen said he first received a call at around 4 p.m. Saturday when the fire was about four hectares in size. Article content “We had pretty significant winds yesterday and that was a big concern,” Thiessen said in a phone interview Sunday. Having grown up in the area, he said wildfires are not uncommon in July and August, but it’s rare to have such a large blaze so early in the season. “This is very unusual and it’s concerning,” he said. The fire prompted the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako to issue evacuation orders and alerts for residents in parts of Lejac near Highway 16. The order was for residences south of Highway 16 to south of Roys Lake, and west and east of Seaspunkut 4 (Lejac), affecting about half a dozen homes in an area that formerly hosted a residential school, Thiessen said. Meanwhile, an alert was in place to the immediate east, meaning about 40 people located in that area must be ready to leave at a moment’s notice. Forty firefighters, two helicopters and several pieces of heavy equipment were deployed to fight the blaze. Fraser lake Mayor Sarrah Storey said she visited a home two minutes out of town on Saturday night to bring water and supplies to fire crews. The water bombers and helicopters had been grounded after nightfall but crews were piping water from a small lake to fight the blaze on the ground. “There were tiny little fires everywhere, the ground was pretty charred and the trees were gone,” she said, adding that flames were still “shooting up” and cresting another hill above. Article content “It’s hard to watch,” she said. “You’re just hoping the crews on the frontline are staying safe and the wind dies down.” By Sunday afternoon, the fire had not touched Lejac or crossed a highway toward the Fraser Lake sawmill, which is the village’s major employer. With winds dying down, crews were optimistic about containing the blaze, Storey said. A dry winter and spring means the snowpack is low in the region, making it more vulnerable to fires, said Thiessen. “We haven’t had any significant snow or rain since almost Christmas so that’s a real concern for us,” he said. “We’re hoping that we get some precipitation and we will be able to get through the summer with as few fires as possible.” B.C. Hydro reported failure of transmission equipment due to the fire, which left 20,000 customers without power. The areas affected included Fraser Lake, Prince Rupert, Houston and Smithers. Fraser Lake is 157 kilometres west of Prince George. Another wildfire of note, the Coffee Creek Subdivision fire, was also discovered Saturday. That fire, located 20 kilometres northwest of the community of Charlie Lake, measured 7 hectares and was 100 per cent contained by Sunday.