‘Protected by past burns’: Fire south of Dehacho Creek sits at 1,885 hectares

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — A fire in the Fort Nelson zone has reached nearly 1,900 hectares since igniting last week.

First reported by the BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) on May 27th, the fire is six kilometres south of Dehacho Creek and east of Prophet River. 

The fire is an overwintering fire from 2024, meaning the flames started last year and smouldered underneath the snowpack during the winter months.  

The BCWS says the fire has burned 1,885 hectares at its last update. However, fire information officer Jeromy Corrigan of the Prince George Fire Service says no resources are being allotted to the fire.

“It doesn’t appear right now there are going to be resources put on it,” said Corrigan. “ [A] big reason for that is to the east of the fire there was a fire last year and a bigger fire the previous year.

“It’s kind of protected right now from past burns, from the top of it down to the bottom. But talking with our wildfire commanding officer, it’s pretty wet on the eastern side of that fire. So right now they kind of don’t foresee that fire growing.”

The suspected cause of the re-igniting of the fire is believed to be a lightning strike, according to the BCWS.

In the previous week, several large fires have increased in size in northeast B.C., including a 2,628-hectare wildfire in Summit Lake which prompted an evacuation alert and a 6,286-hectare fire near the Fontas River. 

Energeticcity.ca will update this story as more information becomes available.