Evacuation order issued by Grande Prairie county for BC wildfire

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Plumes of smoke from the wildfire near Kiskatinaw River are seen from the air near Tumbler Ridge, B.C. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-BCWS)

GRANDE PRAIRIE, ALTA. — Residents in a portion of the County of Grande Prairie are being urged to evacuate immediately due to a wildfire.

On the morning of June 5th, the county issued an evacuation order for everyone located “north of Township Road 710 to 740 [and] east of the British Columbia/Alberta border to Range Road 130” due to the ongoing threat of the Kiskatinaw River wildfire.

Residents in that area are being told to leave immediately and make their way to Hythe Community Library at 10013 100 Street in Hythe, Alberta.

“Reception staff will assign accommodations — either hotel lodging or camping at Hythe Municipal Campground,” the order says. “Bring important documents, medication, medical devices and prepare to be away from your home for seven days.”

The ongoing evacuation alert in the region has also expanded, east along Township Road 710 from Range Road 130 to 124 and north along the provincial border from Township Road 750 to Highway 43.

This comes as BCWS readies for a “challenging” weekend, with the weather forecast from June 6th to 8th expected to drive the growth of blazes in the Fort St. John, Dawson Creek and Fort Nelson fire zones.

Firefighters are tackling numerous incidents in those zones, and various evacuation alerts and orders have been issued. For example, notices are also in place due to the blazes near Summit Lake and in Goodlow.