New evacuation alert issued due to Kiskatinaw River wildfire

KELLY LAKE, B.C. — The Peace River Regional District (PRRD) has issued a new evacuation alert due to the Kiskatinaw River wildfire.

The district issued the alert at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 11th, due to the potential threat to the lives and safety of residents posed by the wildfire.

The area under the alert includes:

• From the junction of Highway 2 and Highway 52 east
• Following the south side of Highway 2 to the Alberta border
• South following the Alberta border for 6km
• 5.2 km west to a point 1.6 km East of Highway 52 east
• Due south 3.2km
• Due west 1.6km to a point of intersection with Hwy 52 east
• South following Highway 52 east for 0.7km
• From said point 3.2km due west
• Due north 1.6km
• Easterly 2.1km to a point of intersection of One Island Lake Road and Weaver Road
• Westerly 7.4km to a point of intersection with Kiskatinaw River
• Northerly following the Kiskatinaw River for approximately 8km
• Due east 11.5km
• Due north 1.6km
• East 0.8km
• South 0.8km
• East 1.6km
• South 1.6km to a point of intersection with 188th Road.
• East 4.9km
• Easterly following the south side of Highway 2 for 0.8km to a point of intersection with Highway 52 east
• North 1.6km
• East 2.8km to a point of intersection of Highway 2
• Easterly following the south side of Highway 2 for 0.8km to a point of intersection with Highway 52 east

“An evacuation alert has been issued to prepare you to evacuate your premises, or property, should it be found necessary,” the PRRD’s Facebook post reads. “Residents will be given as much notice as possible prior to evacuation; however, you may receive limited notice due to changing conditions.”

Residents in the affected area are urged to prepare for a possible evacuation, by packing essential items like government-issued ID, medications, eyeglasses, valuable papers (insurance, credit and mortgage information), immediate care needs for dependents and, if time and space permits, keepsakes for quick departure.

People with pets are also reminded to ensure they bring all essential items they need for their animals.

The latest updates to the situation will be posted to the PRRD website. Residents are also urged to watch for updates on the fire via the BC Wildfire Service website, and to monitor road conditions on DriveBC.