Highway 97 closed again due to wildfire near Buckinghorse River

UPDATE: The closure is now from km 251 to km 349 on Highway 97.

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. – Highway 97 is closed once again from km 280 to km 349 due to the 4,800-hectare fire near Buckinghorse River.

Public Services and Procurement Canada, the federal agency that maintains the highway past Wonowon, says to expect delays at km 355 to 359 as well.

“The fire is very unpredictable and moving quite fast,” says the Prince George Fire Centre.

Smoke from nearby wildfires will be rolling into Fort St. John over the next few days.

According to FireSmoke Canada, the smoke started moving in Wednesday morning from a fire near Beatton River. The smoke from the fire near Buckinghorse River will also start moving towards the Energetic City, combining smoke from both wildfires.

The BC Wildfire Service says the uncontrolled fire near Buckinghorse continues to move. This is due to wind speeds over the last few days, which are supposed to reach between 20 to 40 km/h Wednesday afternoon.

There are eight active wildfires due to lightning in the Prince George Fire Centre.

The fire near Beatton River has expanded from 90-hectares to 1,200 hectares.

There is also a separate wildfire neat Trutch that has grown to 80 hectares.

There are currently four active fires in the Fort Nelson area ranging between 0.90 hectares to six hectares that were reported on Monday. A 0.01 hectare and eight-hectare fire is also being reported in the Kotcho Lake area.