Etcho Creek wildfire grows past 50,000 hectares

FORT NELSON, B.C. — Two days after crossing the 10,000-hectare threshold, a wildfire in the Fort Nelson zone has more than quadrupled in size.

The Etcho Creek blaze – an overwintering fire from a previous wildfire season that was found to have reignited on May 2nd – has now burned 53,707 hectares, up from the 13,000 hectares it had burned by Wednesday, May 28th.

Part of the reason for its expanded size is due to weather conditions in the region, according to the BC Wildfire Service (BCWS). BCWS claims exceptionally dry conditions coupled with higher-than-usual temperatures and strong winds contributed to the fire’s spread. 

It’s also larger, firefighters claim, because it combined with another nearby blaze – the Brandt Creek fire.

“The northern flank of this fire is now just south of Coles Lake,” BCWS says, “20 kilometres south of the border with the Northwest Territories, having expanded from two fires with a combined size under 1,000 hectares [on May 28th] to 53,707 hectares.”

BCWS has assigned an incident management team to the Fort Nelson region, alongside 19 helicopters. Additionally, 24 firefighting personnel and six pieces of heavy equipment have been assigned to the Etcho Creek blaze specifically.

No evacuation orders or alerts have been issued as a result of this fire. Energeticcity.ca will update this story with new information as it becomes available.