Alaska Highway closed in two places as wildfires rage north and south of Fort Nelson

FORT NELSON, B.C. — The Alaska Highway is currently closed in two different places as firefighters tackle wildfires across the region. 

Highway 97 is shut south of Fort Nelson, between kilometre 252 and kilometre 365, because of the Pocket Knife Creek fire. 

DriveBC reports the blaze is affecting the section of highway between Sikanni Chief Road and Prophet River Subdivision Road for 106.1km.

The BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) said this fire increased its size “substantially” when it merged with another blaze.

Highway 97 is also closed north of Fort Nelson, between kilometre 485 and kilometre 648, due to the Summit Lake blaze, while the BCWS continues its dangerous tree assessment.

This incident is affecting the highway between Grouse Trail and Toad Mountain Road for 161.9km, according to DriveBC. 

The Summit Lake fire has recently grown from 8,354 hectares to 10,666. 

Both the fires have prompted evacuation orders and alerts to be issued and are considered to be ‘of note’ by the BCWS.

In a notice issued via email, Public Services and Procurement Canada said the closures are expected to remain in place for the rest of the day and through the night.

DriveBC says the next update is scheduled for June 10th at 8am. However, the road status may change quickly, so drivers should check DriveBC before starting their journey. 

This comes as there were already delays on the Alaska Highway at Taylor for scheduled road sweeping on June 9th.