Third holdover fire spreads north of Fort Nelson, reaches more than 400 hectares

FORT NELSON, B.C. — Another holdover fire north of Fort Nelson has quickly ballooned, this time to burn more than 400 hectares. 

BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) crews are tackling or monitoring numerous large hotspots in the region, including a fire near Etset Lake which has already burned nearly 2,000 hectares and one south of the Kiwigana River which has grown beyond 1,400 hectares.

They are ‘holdover’ or ‘overwintering’ fires, which means they started in a previous wildfire season before they moved underground and then resurfaced this spring.

The BCWS has now reported an incident near Etcho Creek has grown from 12 hectares on May 12th to 418 hectares on May 13th.  

It says the flames initially sparked in 2023, but reappeared both in 2024 and now this year.

The blaze is labelled ‘out of control,’ which means it is “anticipated to spread beyond the current perimeter or control line.” 

“With finite firefighting resources, efforts are being prioritised toward wildfires that pose the greatest risk to values,” the BCWS says.

“Given the scale of the area impacted by wildfires since 2023 – spanning more than 1.8 million hectares – it would take a very large number of personnel and equipment to fully action every hot spot.

“Instead, crews are focusing on the fires that are most likely to impact infrastructure and other critical values.” 

On May 11th, the service took to Facebook to warn motorists that smoke from two of the holdover fires in the region, near Highway 77, may be visible to those driving nearby. 

The “suppression efforts [were] being challenged by heavy blowdown in the area – accumulated fallen trees and debris – which creates hazardous conditions for crews and contributes to increased fire intensity,” it said in that post. 

One of those is a 17.09-hectare fire in Delkpay Creek, which – as of May 13th – is ‘being held.’

This means it is “projected, based on fuel and weather conditions and resource availability, to remain within the current perimeter, control line or boundary.”