BC town braces for ‘last stands’ as wildfires rage across western Canada

Rob Fraser did not cover the situation facing Fort Nelson, BC, as forecasts suggested westerly winds would pick up in northeastern British Columbia Sunday night and turn a nearby wildfire into a serious threat.

Fraser, the mayor of the Fort Nelson-based Northern Rockies Regional Municipality, said fire crews and emergency workers were preparing for a “last ditch effort” for the possibility that high winds could push the blaze near Parker Lake directly into the city.

“Right now that’s the worst-case scenario,” Fraser said of the projected winds, which are expected to increase to 20 km/h before potentially producing gusts of up to 50 km/h by Monday. “The fire is two to three kilometers away and if we have a westerly wind like we did on Friday – the day this fire started – it’s going to be extremely difficult to keep it from moving into the community.”

The Parker Lake fire, last measured at 41 square kilometers on Sunday afternoon, is one of several wildfires burning in western Canada that threaten nearby communities in provinces such as Alberta and Manitoba.

Fires are burning near Fort McMurray and Grande Prairie in Alberta, while officials in Manitoba have evacuated about 500 people from the community of Cranberry Portage, about 700 kilometers northwest of Winnipeg.

In BC, about 3,500 people have already been evacuated from Fort Nelson after an evacuation order was issued late Friday in light of the fast-growing Parker Lake fire, with many residents temporarily moving hundreds of kilometers to the south in Fort St John or Prince George. , BC

But Fraser said as of Sunday there were still about 37 households in Fort Nelson proper and another 28 in the surrounding countryside that had not complied with the evacuation order, totaling between 100 and 150 people.

Fraser urged those residents to leave immediately, warning that local resources such as water pressure and electricity may drop or stop for public use as much of the supply will be diverted to support firefighters trying to suppress the fire.

“We have a deteriorating situation and it’s likely that as we install our sprinkler systems and structural protection around the community, the water pressure will likely drop,” Fraser said.

“And there is even the potential to lose electricity. So they’ll be at home, thinking they can use their own sprinklers, electric pumps and that sort of thing to help themselves, and they’ll find that the resources they need are gone.”

A statement from the BC Wildfire Service said that while operational and command personnel will remain in Fort Nelson “as long as it is safe to do so,” the municipality’s emergency operations center has moved outside the city to a place described by Fraser as about 250 people. miles south on the Alaska Highway.

“To ensure business continuity and continued response to this evolving situation, support personnel from the BC Wildfire Service Incident Management Team and members of the local Emergency Operations Center have departed Fort Nelson,” the statement said.

The Northern Rockies Regional Municipality issued an update warning that the wind “has the real potential to significantly increase the extent of the fires over the next 48 hours.”

“Please know that the decision to evacuate was not made lightly and is based on careful assessment and expert advice, with the safety of residents at the forefront,” the update said.

“At this time, all residents currently remaining in the community are strongly urged to reconsider and evacuate immediately. You are our friends, family and neighbors. Please be safe.”

Fraser said the smoke in Fort Nelson was so thick on Sunday and the air quality was poor even indoors, and people’s eyes could become irritated within moments of going outside.

With the Parker Lake fire directly to the west of the community, Fraser said there is little crews can do if strong westerly winds develop as forecast.

“Just pray the winds don’t come from the west,” he said. “Maybe it’s heading northwest, which will help throw it south of the community, and that would really help us.

“But we are as ready as we can be with the help of the province to take one last inning.”

In the Yukon, telecommunications and 911 services have been largely restored after being knocked out by the Fort Nelson fire on Friday, government spokeswoman Julia Duchesne said.

A news release from the City of Yellowknife said disrupted services in the Northwest Territories have also been restored. However, Duchesne warned of possible future outages in the Yukon as the fire situation in BC evolves.

The Alaska Highway that connects the Yukon to the rest of Canada also remains closed, and drivers are advised to consider alternatives such as the Stewart-Cassiar Highway.

In Manitoba, a provincial bulletin on Sunday said the fire near Flin Flon that forced the evacuation of Cranberry Portage grew exponentially over the weekend, jumping from 0.2 square kilometers on Thursday to 20 square kilometers on Friday, then growing to its current size of 350 square kilometers.

“Approximately 500 residents are affected at this time, but that number may increase as conditions change,” the province’s statement on Cranberry Portage evacuees said, adding that another fire is burning north of The Pas, Man., threatening hydro lines.

The province said the fires are being fueled by high winds and drought conditions, and people in the surrounding area should be prepared to leave if the situation worsens.

The fire has also affected infrastructure in the area, which could disrupt telecommunications, road and rail links near Flin Flon, the province said, noting that Highway 10 connecting the town to Cranberry Portage is already closed.

In Alberta, the regional municipality of Wood Buffalo maintained an alert for residents of Fort McMurray to be ready to evacuate shortly, as the fire 16 kilometers to the southwest reached an area of ​​55 square kilometers.

“This fire grew substantially to the southeast yesterday, driven by strong winds,” Alberta Wildfire said in an update. “Fire behavior is reduced this morning but is expected to increase today as temperatures rise.”

In Grande Prairie, the nearest fire was four kilometers east of the community with an area of ​​14 square kilometers.

Wildfires in western Canada have created poor air quality in a number of regions from Manitoba to British Columbia, with Environment Canada reporting a “very high risk” — or level above 10 — air health index on Sunday. air quality for Edmonton and Winnipeg.

The weather agency said other communities that experienced high air quality risks Sunday included Fort St. John, BC; Medicine Hat, Drayton Valley and Cold Lake in Alberta; and Swift Current, Sask.

Environment Canada said very poor air quality is expected to improve in most places by Monday, with Edmonton and Calgary both dropping back to moderate risk on the Air Quality Health Index.

Edmonton activated its poor air quality response on Sunday, which sees the city open municipal facilities such as recreation centers to anyone who needs respite from the smoke.

The Edmonton Elks CFL team moved their scheduled practice indoors on Sunday, but fan festivities outside Rogers Place Arena, where the Edmonton Oilers were scheduled to play the third game of their NHL playoff series against the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday night, were still a “go”.

“Obviously we’re continuing to monitor the situation and it’s really up to the fans. If they feel comfortable coming down, then we welcome them,” OEG Sports and Entertainment’s Kevin Rapanos said, acknowledging it could be hard to stop them.

“Our fans are super passionate, especially this time of year.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on May 12, 2024.

Chuck Chiang, Canadian Press