NRRM, Fort Nelson First Nation, BCWS, ESS update evacuees at Resident Meeting in Fort St. John

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) Incident Command Liason Mark Healey says one of the top priorities in fighting the Parker Lake wildfire is keeping Gasoline Alley safe now that the fire has started to move toward the Muskwa River.

Healey spoke Wednesday afternoon at a Resident Meeting for evacuees from Fort Nelson held at the North Peace Arena in Fort St. John alongside several other representatives, including Northern Rockies Regional Municipality (NRRM) Mayor Rob Fraser and Fort Nelson First Nation Chief Sharleen Gale.

“There are multiple hazards in Gasoline Alley, which [residents] I’m sure are very well aware of, and that is one of the biggest challenges if the fire were to get across both rivers and up into that area,” Healey said.

“That’s something we’ve had a lot of talks about with producers and business owners up there and how we’re going to resolve that.”

Hazards on Gasoline Alley include fuel suppliers like Peace Country Petroleum, Bluewave Energy and the Petro Pass Cardlock truck stop, all of which could cause serious damage to the area if the fire gets that far.

Despite that hazard, Mayor Fraser is optimistic about the situation, saying he’s seen the way the BC Fire Service is responding to the blaze, which has changed over time.

“What I noticed is that the fire service has gone away from being defensive and gone offensive,” Fraser said. It gives them the ability to fly that water to where it needs to go to get on the offensive, to actually try to beat this thing.”

According to the BCWS website, the fire currently sits at 12,741 hectares in size, and 88 firefighters have been assigned to battle the blaze alongside 19 helicopters, a team of structure protection workers, including four specialists, and an ignition specialist.

Eighteen pieces of heavy equipment, three structure protection trailers and an ignition trailer have all been assigned to the fire.

The BCWS website’s latest update states, “A fire camp located at the Fort Nelson airport is expected to be operational by Saturday, May 18th.”

Erin La Vale, the NRRM’s Emergency Operations Coordinator, says the city’s Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) evacuated the city on Sunday, May 12th.

“We have moved into a remote location in Pink Mountain,” La Vale says. “We got our EOC up and running Monday and Tuesday with phones and everything that we needed, so we’re currently situated there, getting things going.” 

She says more than 15 workers are in the area keeping the EOC running.

“We are trying our hardest, and we are working our asses off – pardon my language – to make sure you guys get everything that you need. Our job is to work for you, so I hope we’re meeting that expectation.”

Kylah Bryde, a worker with Fort St. John Emergency Social Services (ESS), says some residents who booked a hotel room in the city before registering with ESS might not be able to get reimbursed for their rooms.

“There are a couple of the hotels, if you booked on a third party, they are totally unable to reimburse that, because that’s a third party,” Bryde says. “So, Travelocity and Expedia, we’re working on trying to figure out how that’s possible.”

Bryde says some residents who booked through services like that and then registered with ESS the next day have since been reimbursed despite that being against normal policy.

When asked about structural damage in Fort Nelson, Mayor Fraser confirmed that some buildings had been damaged.

Some residents driving in the area have posted photos and videos of damaged properties outside of Fort Nelson proper, along the Old Alaska Highway.

Fraser condemned residents’ sharing that material, calling it “unconscionable.”

“Can you imagine finding out about your shop or your house because somebody posted it on Facebook?” he said. “We’re working diligently to ensure that we can find out who these property owners are so we can inform them officially about any damage.”

Because of the wildfire, Highway 77 is completely closed. Highway 97 closed north of Fort Nelson last week, and as of right now, it is closed between Testa River Regional Park and Sikanni Chief, according to DriveBC.

Fraser also said there’s no firm timeline for when evacuees can return to their homes.

“The fire is still burning, and there’s another fire burning to the north of us,” Fraser said. “So, we’re not going to get an all-clear, we’re not going to get that notification of safety unless it’s actually safe.”