Wildfires force northeastern B.C. evacuation orders but cooler weather expected
FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Three evacuation orders remain around the northeastern B.C. community of Fort St. John and at least one property was destroyed Monday when high winds and warm temperatures sparked wildfires.
Peace River Regional District declared a state of local emergency Monday night, just hours after winds gusting to 80 kilometres per hour brought down power lines.
Unseasonably high temperatures of nearly 30 degrees added to the conditions, although fire information officer Amanda Reynolds of the Prince George Fire Centre said a cause of all the blazes had not been confirmed.
“This time of the year, most of our fires are human caused,” she said. “However, we have not had an origin and cause investigator and we do know that some fires have resulted from fallen power lines.”