Evacuation order issued for West Kiskatinaw River Wildfire

TUMBLER RIDGE, B.C. – The rapid growth of the West Kiskatinaw River Wildfire has resulted in the Peace River Regional District issuing an evacuation order for the area.

The approximately 3,796-hectare-sized fire is 100 km east of Tumbler Ridge and was discovered at 12:40 p.m. on Tuesday. The fire is considered out of control and is suspected to be caused by lighting.

Those residing in the community of One Island Lake and the following areas are being asked to leave their home immediately:

• Along Highway 52 between km 220 (Cut Bank Dam) and km 195
• West from km 195 of Highway 52 to a point beyond PDR 286
• From that point running north on the west side of Noel Road, crossing the Hour Glass Road, and continuing due north to the point of intersection with the West Kiskatinaw River;
• East from that point following the West Kiskatinaw River and the Kiskatinaw River to Highway 52 at km 220.

The PRRD says the order does not apply to First Nations communities as they issue their own orders and alerts.

An evacuation alert was also issued for Kelly Lake residents and the following areas:

• From One Island Lake Bridge North 10 km;
• Due east to the Alberta border, including 187 Road;
• South along the BC/Alberta border to a point that is due east of the Kiskatinaw Forestry Service Road;
• From the Kiskatinaw Forestry Service Road on the west side of Highway 52 E north to Cutbank Creek dam west following the Kiskatinaw River to the One Island Lake Bridge.

The BC Wildfire Service says due to aggressive fire behaviour, crews are currently prioritizing values assessment and structure protection and are looking for anchor points to establish safe locations to begin working with heavy equipment to establish machine guards.

For those seeking information in case they are asked to evacuate, click here, and those being asked to evacuate immediately can click here.

The Peavine Creek wildfire, south of Dawson Creek, was discovered on Tuesday and is approximately 200 hectares. Resources on site include one unit crew, two initial attack crews and two helicopters.

**CORRECTION – An earlier version of this article incorrectly said the town of One Lake Island was included in the evacuation. This article has been corrected to state the community is One Island Lake.