The Fish Creek Wildfire in Fort St. John is listed as being under control. The fire broke out Thursday afternoon and grew to 56 hectares in size.
The BC Wildfire Service said there is minimal fire activity observed along the perimeter of the fire. There will be a number of infrared aerial scans in the coming days to identify the remaining hotspots.
“Our service crews are on site continuing to work and there are some spots on the southern flank where there is more hotspots detected,” said Karley Desrosiers with the BC Wildfire Service.
19 households that were evacuated on Thursday night were allowed to return home on Friday.
The city says it is believed that the wildfire did not affect any structures, however the Community Forest will remain closed until further notice.
“I’d like to thank the public in advance for respecting the temporary closure of our beloved trail system. It’s important that we let BC Wildfire complete their work and we ensure that fire damages are assessed before we use the trails again,” said Mayor Lilia Hansen.
The Wildfire Service is thanking the public for their support and patience with fire crews this weekend.
“I want to thank the public for avoiding the Fish Creek area, which allowed our crews to work safely. There is still some work to do to get those those remaining hotspots addressed so that we don’t see growth or spotting when the wind picks up,” said Derosiers.
The BC Wildfire Serivce is working with the Fort St. John Fire Department and RCMP investigating the cause of the fire.
The Fort St John RCMP are requesting that anyone with information or video footage pertaining to the incident please contact the lead investigator Constable Shaun Wagantall at 250-787-8100.