Northeast B.C. wildfires out of control: latest updates

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Below are the updates to wildfires in Northeast B.C. currently listed as ‘out of control’ as of July 5th:

Out of Control fires:

According to BC Wildfire Service (BCWS), a fire described as ‘out of control’ is a wildfire that is “spreading or anticipated to spread beyond its current perimeter or control line.”

Nogah Creek 

Located east of Fort Nelson, the Nogah Creek Wildfire is currently at 143,207 hectares, according to the BCWS’ latest update. 

The fire is a holdover fire from 2023, which smoldered during the winter underneath the snowpack.

Lighting is suspected to have re-ignited the fire on May 5th.  No evacuation orders or alerts are in place due to this fire. 

DriveBC says Highway 77 is open in both directions from 137 kilometres from the fire to the Northwest Territories border.  However, no stopping is permitted due to wildfire activity. 

Patry Creek

The Patry Creek wildfire north of Fort Nelson is currently listed at 70,731 hectares. BCWS issued a statement on Friday via its X account saying the “dry, windy weather” experienced this weekend have caused challenges with the containment line in the blaze’s northwest corner.

According to BCWS, the fire first reported on May 2nd is believed to have been caused by a lightning strike. Click here for the latest story on this fire. 

Gote Creek/Tsea River

The holdover fire from 2023 in the Gote Creek/Tsea River area now stands at an estimated 65,381 hectares.

Lightning is suspected to have caused the re-ignition of the fire, which smoldered underneath snow during the winter. 

Kome Yoyo Bypass

The wildfire near Kome Yoyo Bypass now covers 51,429 hectares. On May 14th, a lightning strike re-lit this holdover fire from 2023, which had smoldered during the winter. 

Fontas Community

Located south of Nogah Creek near Fort Nelson First Nation, the holdover wildfire from 2023 in the Fontas Area stands at 25,488.5 hectares.

The suspected cause of the fire according to the BCWS is a lightning strike.

Sahdoanah Creek

First reported on May 25th, the suspected cause of the re-ignited holdover fire is believed to be lightning, according to the BCWS.

The fire now stands at 13,261 hectares.

Snowfall

The wildfire in the Snowfall Creek area is now 6,822 hectares according to the latest update from the BCWS.

First discovered on May 11th, the suspected cause of the fire is believed to be lightning.

Donnie Creek

The Donnie Creek wildfire located near Beaton River now stands at 3,323.07 hectares says the BCWS.

Last updated on Friday, July 5th, the believed cause of the holdover fire is a lightning strike.

Tommy Lakes

Reported on June 21st, lightning is believed to have ignited the fire east of Tommy Lakes, which now stands at 1,905 hectares.

There are no evacuation orders or alerts for this fire.