Komie Road wildfire in Fort Nelson fire zone now 'out'

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A firefighter directs water on a grass fire burning on an acreage behind a residential property in Kamloops on June 5th, 2023. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck)

FORT NELSON, B.C. — A former 1,350-hectare fire in the Fort Nelson fire zone is classified as ‘out.’

The blaze near Komie Road was first discovered on May 15th, sitting at 47 hectares in mid-May until the BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) reported growth to more than 1,000 hectares this month.

Suspected to have been caused by lightning, the wildfire is now classified as ‘out’ by the BCWS as of an update on June 17th at 4:30 p.m.

It is a holdover or overwintering wildfire, which means it ignited in a previous wildfire season and smouldered underground during the winter before reigniting in subsequent years.

The ‘out’ classification means the wildfire has been extinguished or these “winter conditions” are present and it will not spread, the BCWS says.

This comes after a period of de-escalation in the wildfire situation across northeast B.C. amid rainy weather conditions.

However, firefighters are still tackling incidents across the Fort Nelson fire zone, including a 768-hectare blaze near Kwokwollie Lake and an 163-hectare fire south of Pesh Creek.

Both of these are believed to have been caused by lightning and are being treated as ‘out of control,’ which means they are spreading or anticipated to spread beyond the current perimeter or control line.

Keep up to date with wildfires across the region, visit Energeticcity.ca.