Etcho Creek wildfire grows to 13,000 hectares, Brandt Creek blaze extinguished

FORT NELSON, B.C. — One of the many overwintering wildfires from past seasons burning in the Fort Nelson zone has crossed the 10,000-hectare threshold, and another has reportedly gone out.

According to the latest updates from the BC Wildfire Service (BCWS), the Etcho Creek fire that was found to have reignited on May 2nd has grown from 418 hectares to 13,000 hectares in size as of Wednesday, May 28th.

The blaze is classified as an overwintering fire, meaning it was first ignited in 2023 and continued to smoulder underground through the winter in 2023 and 2024 before reigniting this year, 2025. It lingered at 418 hectares in size for roughly two weeks before ballooning to 13,000 hectares.

BCWS says part of the reason for the fire’s increased size is rising temperatures in northeast B.C.

“Today [Wednesday, March 28th] will bring above seasonal temperatures, with a high of 26 to 30 [degrees celsius],” BCWS’ website reads. “Minimum relative humidity is forecast at 15 to 25 per cent, with south to southeast winds at 15 to 25 kilometres per hour gusting to 40 kilometres per hour.”

Those conditions support increased fire growth, BCWS claims, and increased burning is likely to continue through the evening and overnight.

“On Thursday [May 29th], a cold front is expected to pass over the northeast corner of the province, bringing sustained winds in the 20 to 40 kilometre per hour range with gusts at 60 kilometres per hour,” the website reads.

“Temperatures will decrease slightly to 25 degrees celsius, and relative humidity is forecast at 30 per cent. Cooler, but still very dry conditions will persist for Friday and Saturday, and only very light precipitation is expected over the next few days.”

BCWS has reportedly assigned an incident management team to the Etcho Creek blaze, alongside 24 firefighting personnel, six pieces of heavy equipment and 19 helicopters in the Fort Nelson fire zone.

Meanwhile, another nearby wildfire located in the Brandt Creek area has reportedly gone out, after spending several days burning 355 hectares in the region. It’s unknown how the blaze went from being labelled as ‘out of control’ to being extinguished so quickly.

Energeticcity.ca will update this story with new information as it becomes available.