A wildfire is burning out of control 20 kilometres northwest of Buckinghorse River.
The Pocket Knife Creek Wildfire has almost doubled in size over the weekend, to 4,373 hectares.
Winds with gusts of up to 40km/h pushed the fire northeast towards the Alaska Highway, over the weekend. Area restrictions, mostly concerning Crown land are now in place.
Between the fire and the highway are remnants of an old fire. The BC Wildfire Service said that is slowing the movement of the fire in a northeast direction toward the highway.
Due to the size of the fire and weather conditions, smoke is causing poor visibility for motorists on the Alaska Highway. More information on status of highways can be found at drivebc.ca.
The blaze is being described as a highly vigorous surface fire. It is displaying rank 2 and 3 fire behaviour with pockets of the fire reaching rank 4.
According to the wildfire service, getting to the fire on the ground has proven difficult. Helicopters are fighting the blaze from the air, while 60 firefighters are on their way to the scene.
The fire was originally discovered on May 17th after a suspected lightning strike. It brought under control on May 27 but hot temperatures and high winds last Thursday, fanned the flames.
