Pocket Knife Creek fire now ‘being held,’ Summit Lake blaze shrinks as wildfire picture calms

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The Pocket Knife Creek blaze is now listed as ‘being held’ by the BC Wildfire Service (BCWS), while the Summit Lake wildfire has slightly shrunk.

Rainfall over the weekend aided firefighting efforts in northeast B.C., and three fires have been newly classified as ‘being held’ by the BCWS, which means they are “projected, based on fuel and weather conditions and resource availability, to remain within the current perimeter, control line or boundary”:

• G80352, located near Pocket Knife Creek, is now ‘being held’ at 151,844 hectares. It is one of three ‘wildfires of note’ in the province, and various evacuation notices related to the fire were lifted on Monday, June 16th.
• G80473, located just west of Milligan Hills Park in the Heck Creek area near the Alberta border, is also now ‘being held’.
• G80476 near the Etthithun River is also ‘being held’ at 2,541 hectares. 

Each of these fires are believed to have been caused by lightning.

Despite a calming of the wildfire situation, there are several fires which have grown in size from the last update:

• G90220, near the Fort Nelson River, has grown slightly to 2,447 hectares, up from 2,238 hectares.  The fire is believed to have been caused by a lightning strike and is ‘being held.’
• G90283, near Petito Creek, has grown from 4,079 hectares to 4,426 hectares. It is considered to be ‘out of control.’
• G90216, near Etcho Creek, is still ‘out of control’ and has now burned 211,154 hectares – a slight increase from 208,098 hectares.
• G90425, which is also near the Fort Nelson River and west of Sikanni Old Growth Provincial Park, has expanded from 11,396 hectares to 11,794 hectares. It is also believed to have been caused by lightning and is designated ‘out of control.’

Meanwhile, G90413 – another ‘wildfire of note’ near Summit Lake – is still ‘out of control’ and is listed at 81,358 hectares. This is shrunk from its previous 81,392 hectares.

Two other fires – near Etset Lake and the Peggo airstrip – have also been extinguished.

Energeticcity.ca will provide more information on this story as it becomes available.