CHETWYND -- An Evacuation Order that was issued for the Pine River area Wednesday has now been downgraded to an Evacuation Alert. 

The Peace River Regional District has declared a state of local emergency due to a wildfire burning out of control near Chetwynd.

The Evacuation Alert applies to anyone from west of Bisset Creek to south of Pine River and east to Wildmare Creek. That means residents must be ready to leave at a moments notice.

The Evacuation Alert that was in place for the Wildmare subdivision and surrounding area has since been cancelled. 

Th Wildmare Creek wildfire had been moving directly towards Chetwynd. However overnight, the movement of the fire stalled and hasn't grown since Wednesday night.

Police and firefighters were going door-to-door telling people who live in the vicinity of the fire they need to evacuate.

In a social media post Wednesday evening, the BC Wildfire Service says local RCMP and the Chetwynd Fire Department are doing a “tactical evacuation” near the fire, which was discovered around 3:45 p.m.

In just a few hours, the fire has grown to 50 hectares in size, according to the agency.

For those who have been evacuated and are looking for Emergency Support Services (ESS), they can head to the Chetwynd Municipal Offices located at 5400 Hospital Road

A 10-kilometre stretch of Highway 97 has re-opened to single alternating traffic due to the wildfire. 

BCWS says 30 firefighters and aircraft are working the blaze. “Efforts are focused on protecting public life and safety,” it wrote.

Light rain overnight and early Thursday morning hellping firefighthers. There is a 40 per cent chance of showers in the Chetwynd area forecasted for Thursday. Heavy winds reaching 50 km/hr that fanned the flames on Wednesday have died down in the area on Thursday. Those winds are expected to die down even further late Thursday night.

Wednesday’s evacuation order is the first in the province in what has been an early start to the wildfire season.