Record-breaking Donnie Creek wildfire continues to grow

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The record-breaking Donnie Creek wildfire continues to grow, with fire behaviour increasing on the fire’s east flank.

Marg Drysdale, a fire information officer at the Donnie Creek Complex, said increased fire behaviour is expected as the region heads into warmer temperatures.

Crews continue to work on containment lines.

On the Donnie Creek wildfire, part of the Donnie Creek Complex, there are 205 firefighters, 16 helicopters, 38 pieces of heavy equipment and 37 structure protection personnel.

On the fire’s south flank, crews are working along Beatton Creek and heading east to put in machine guards.

A guard is a wide path or dirt road where all fuel is removed and can be achieved by hand or machinery for larger guards, also known as a control line.

Drysdale said crews are also working north of Camp 192 and had really good progress before they had to pull back due to increased fire behaviour.

She said crews are also tying a containment line into an old burn scar.

“There’s been several fires in this area, and for those who aren’t aware, when there are fires, it gets rid of a lot of the debris that we are trying to get rid of in areas that haven’t burned,” Drysdale said.

“If they tie it into an old burn scar, the old burn scars generally mean that we see reduced fire behaviour.”

Crews also did some fuel mitigation around the CN bridge.

“What that means is they did some structure protection on the bridge, and then they burned an area around the bridge to get rid of any fuels there,” Drysdale explained.

“Unless they get extreme fire behaviour, that should be protected.”

On kilometre 27.5 of the Tommy Lakes Road, crews are removing trees on both sides of the road to use as a control line.

The second group of firefighters from the United States arrived at the complex on Thursday and will be working as soon as possible.

“One of the reasons for bringing in resources is to give our crews a little bit of a respite,” Drysdale said.

“We’ve had some crews on their third deployment. If we can give them an opportunity to rest now before we go into the major part of our fire season, it’s a benefit.”

The Donnie Creek wildfire is still estimated at 553,947 hectares, but an updated perimeter is expected in the coming days.

The Peace River Regional District rescinded evacuation orders on Sunday and Monday, but some evacuation alerts remain in place. An area restriction is also still in place around the wildfire.

The other two fires in the Donnie Creek Complex, Klua Lakes and Muskwa River, are still out of control and being monitored.

The Klua Lakes wildfire is approximately 37,869 hectares, and the Muskwa River wildfire is about 22,413.

The Tooga Creek wildfire is about 36,295 hectares, and an evacuation alert remains for the area.

There are 23 active wildfires in the Prince George Fire Centre.

The special air quality statement issued in northeastern B.C. was reissued Tuesday morning.

The air quality is at a moderate risk in Fort St. John.

For the latest wildfire information, visit BCWS’ website.