Favourable weather helps wildfire fight in Fort Nelson, B.C.
CBC
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Rob Fraser is confident he made the right decision.
On Friday night the mayor of the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality, which includes Fort Nelson, in consultation with the B.C. Wildfire Service, ordered the evacuation of his entire community.
The same order was given to members of the Fort Nelson First Nation, affecting an estimated 4,700 people who were told to start driving south to Fort St. John, nearly 400 kilometres away.
The fear at the time was that the fast-growing Parker Lake wildfire, sparked after wind blew a tree into a power line, could quickly spread into the community, located near B.C.'s border with Yukon and the Northwest Territories, about 1,000 kilometres north of Vancouver and about 800 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.
As difficult as it's been for his friends and neighbours to live out of hotel rooms and RVs hundreds of kilometres away, Fraser knows things could have been a lot worse if not for favourable wind and the work of wildfire crews.
"There could have been a whole lot more damage than there was," he said in a public meeting in Fort St. John on Wednesday afternoon.
"There were predictions it [the fire] would be in town on Monday, and it isn't. ... we're grateful for that."
He says he's also grateful that potential high winds forecast for the week didn't materialize, giving crews the chance to set up more defences and prepare to push back against the fire, rather than simply hope it doesn't come closer.
The B.C. Wildfire Service said early on Wednesday that there was potential for gusty winds to fan "aggressive" fire behaviour in the area.
But the latest report says overall conditions are favourable for firefighting. The fire is burning over an area of 127 square kilometres as of 6 p.m. local time on Wednesday.
Fire officials said Wednesday that cooler temperatures along with higher humidity should reduce the likelihood of intense fire activity.
There's also potential for light rain, which would further lower the risk of the fire spreading closer to the town.
A fire camp located at the Fort Nelson airport is expected to be operational by Saturday, further bolstering the fight.