Fort St. John urges public to avoid Fish Creek forest area

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Everyone must avoid Fish Creek Community Forest as crews continue to fight the wildfire.

That’s the message from the City of Fort St. John, which said in a May 5th press release that the park will remain will remain closed to allow the cause of the blaze to be investigated and for BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) to conduct other assessments. 

“I’d like to thank the public in advance for respecting the temporary closure of our beloved trail system,” said Mayor Lilia Hansen.

As of May 4th, the BCWS changed the blaze’s status to ‘being held’ and said it is not expected to grow outside its current perimeter. 

BCWS and the Fort St. John Fire Department continue to fight the fire with crews spread out to cover key zones within the perimeter.

The city said the forest will reopen after the wildfire is no longer active and the assessments are complete. 

“It’s important that we let BCWS complete their work and we ensure that fire damages are assessed before we use the trails again,” said Hansen. 

Caution tape and signs will be set up outside the forest entrances and patrols will monitor the area. 

The wildfire first ignited in the forest on May 1st and grew to a maximum of 110 hectares in size. 

More information on the wildfire will be published on the city’s Facebook page and website.