The City of Fort St. John has announced that there is nothing suspicious about the wildfire that started in the Fish Creek Community Forest.
The fire started on May 1st and quickly grew to over 50 hectares in size. 19 homes were evacuated, however residents were allowed to return home the next day.
The day before the blaze, the city issued a press released that said there had been 8 suspicious fires over the past two months.
The BC Wildfire Service has been working with the Fort St. John Fire Department and the RCMP, to try and determine the cause of the wildfire.
The city said, “Preliminary findings indicate the fire is considered non-suspicious and was not deliberately set.” A cause of the fire has yet to be determined.
A phased re-opening of part of the community forest began on Friday. The trails directly behind Northern Lights College (Silviculture and Anatomy trails) are open, but the Multi-Purpose Trail that runs along the golf course remains closed.
The city is asking residents to avoid entering the closed areas as crews complete dangerous tree and trail assessments and related clean-up work.
