Shekilie River fire grows again, while other fires no longer ‘out of control’

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — One of the largest fires in the Fort Nelson fire zone has grown again, according to the province’s wildfire authority.

The Shekilie River fire, first reported by the BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) on May 25th, has now grown 9,704 hectares, from 73,879 hectares to 83,583 hectares.

An overwintering fire from previous seasons, it was re-ignited by a lightning strike. This means it is a fire that first started in a previous season, smouldered throughout the winter months and then reappeared again in 2025.

Fire information officer with the BCWS, Julia Caranci, says unlike the rain which affected some of the northeast region, rain hasn’t fallen in the area.

“The very north eastern portion of the zone has not been receiving so far the same amount of rain,” Caranci said. “It’s been very dry in the northeast corner for quite some time now.

“Not a lot of that rain is reaching that very northeast corner. The weather call that we had this morning, we are going to continue to see generally cloudy, cloudier conditions, and we are going to see some more showers. We are anticipating that at least some of that moisture is expected to then move into that very northeast corner.”

Caranci said BCWS has 138 personnel, 12 helicopters, four pieces of heavy equipment and an incident management team assigned to the Fort Nelson zone.

Elsewhere, there were changes to two fires previously clasified as ‘out of control’ in northeastern B.C.:

• G90507, listed as being in the Kyklo Creek area directly east of Fort Nelson, has now been listed as ‘being held’. First reported on June 5th, the fire currently sits at 302 hectares.
• G90304, located north of Fort Nelson and in the Klenteh Creek area is now listed as ‘under control’ at 38 hectares. It was first reported by the BCWS on May 8th and is listed as an overwintering fire from previous years.

Each of the fires was believed to be caused by lightning.

Energeticcity.ca will provide more information should it become available. Check our wildfire page for updates and information.