BCWS anticipates activity within Donnie Creek, Stoddart Creek wildfire perimeters

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Residents of northeast B.C. may begin to see some fire activity within the perimeter of the Stoddart Creek and Donnie Creek wildfires in the coming weeks.

Though all the fires in the Prince George Fire Centre are listed as under control, larger wildfires may still be active due to the dry winter in the region.

The Donnie Creek wildfire broke records last year, ending the season at approximately 619,072 hectares, while the Stoddart Creek wildfire was much smaller but closer to residential areas.

Both wildfires are considered “holdover fires,” according to the Prince George Fire Centre (PGFC). A holdover fire is a fire that remains dormant or undetected for a considerable period after it starts.

James Bergen, the fire officer for the Fort St. John Fire Zone, says the region will see hotspots or active fire within the fire zones due to the “obvious lack of moisture” as well as the warm, windy and dry conditions in January.

“We just don’t have the snow cover that would likely result in extinguishing a number of these hotspots naturally,” Bergen said.

The fire officer says the goal is to identify hotspots within the fire’s perimeter, which is hard this time of year because they use infrared scanning.

“If there is a surface layer of snow over top of it, we either get false readings, which means we don’t get a reading below it, or it just doesn’t pick it up,” Bergen explained.

“Generally, if we want to be successful in identifying these hotspots, we kind of need to be in that transition period where we’re almost snow-free in order to identify them.”

One of the issues the BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) faced last year was the number of wildfires across the province, pulling resources in different directions at all times.

“We have to focus on those specific fires that are posing the greatest risk to life and property, critical infrastructure and assets,” Bergen said.

Bergen says they are bringing in more resources for the upcoming wildfire season, including extra helicopters, air tanker support and scooper aircraft.

BCWS is also looking to hire as many as 12 new fire crew members who live in Fort St. John.

Though they live in Fort St. John, they are “provincial resources,” so they may be deployed to a wildfire deemed a higher priority, says Bergen.

When the 2023 drought monitoring season ended in November 2023, all four basins in the northeast were at drought level 5, meaning adverse impacts are almost certain, adding to the risk for the upcoming wildfire season.

The River Forecast Centre analyzes snowpack, and the February 1st survey reported that “the provincial snowpack remains very low, averaging 61% of normal across British Columbia.”

There are still two to three months left in the snow season, according to the survey, but the current trends of low snowpack are likely to continue.

In February of 2023, the snowpack across the province was 79 per cent.

The BCWS can be reached to report a fire or smoke by calling 1-800-663-5555 or *5555 on a cellphone.

The latest information on wildfires across the province can be found on the BCWS website.