Wildfires crews from across British Columbia are heading to the Fort Nelson area to tackle a number of holdover fires that have recently reignited.
The BC Wildfire Service is stressing that the move is not a result of any immediate threat to the community. Karley Desrosiers with the wildfire service said, “there is not a lot of fire activity across the rest of the province, so now is a good time for crews to work on holdover fires from 2 years ago.”
There are currently 15 wildfires burning in the Fort Nelson Fire Zone, all of which are so-called zombies fires that started in 2023.
The largest fire is listed at 1,877 hectares in size, but that in no way suggests how big the fire currently is. The number listed is the amount of hectares that have been burned since the fire started 2 years ago.
Currently, the fire activity of all of the fires is listed as low to medium. :With low overnight temperatures this time of year, crews can make good progress fighting the fires before things heat up in the summer,” said Desrosiers.
Over the coming days residents in Fort Nelson may notice an increase in BC Wildfire Service personnel in the community. Additional crews and overhead support staff are being mobilized to assist with ongoing wildfire response efforts in the area.
“We sincerely thank the Community of Fort Nelson for their ongoing support, patience and cooperation as this work continues,” said the wildfire service in a Facebook post