Northern Rockies Regional Municipality requests a review of the Parker Lake Wildfire investigation

FORT NELSON, B.C. — The Northern Rockies Regional Municipality (NRRM) has requested a review into a decision to close an investigation into the 2024 Parker Lake Wildfire. 

According to a June 23rd press release, the NRRM announced it formally requested the province review the decision from the Natural Resource Officer Service’s (NROS) to close the investigation into the 2024 Parker Lake Wildfire.

“The NRRM says the absence of written investigative findings leaves affected residents, some of whom lost homes and structures, without clarity and may impair their ability to pursue civil claims,” the release said. 

The NRRM said it has asked the British Columbia Minister of Forests to publicly disclose the investigation’s findings and to provide a written explanation that includes the legal rationale, accountability plans, and the amendment’s implications for wildfire prevention and enforcement in the municipality. 

Northern Rockies Regional Municipality Mayor Rob Fraser said the municipality intends to seek a “fair” review process, public clarity, and an appropriate path to resolution for the community. 

In a statement provided to Energeticcity.ca, the Ministry of Forests said it is directly reaching out to Fraser on the situation to discuss next steps. 

According to the NRRM, the municipality had asked the Ministry of Forests to provide a written response by June 15th due to the “time-sensitive” implications for residents seeking to pursue civil claims. 

The NRRM said that when no response was received by the deadline, it met with residents who directly experienced the impacts of the wildfire’s losses. 

The municipality said it is initiating a “public information effort” to guarantee residents have the required information if they decide to pursue civil action. 

“Further, the NRRM intends to continue to press the province for a formal response and, if required, petition the court for statutory interpretation regarding the application of the Wildlife Regulation to the NRRM,” the municipality said. 

The NRRM also requests that the province look into the NROS decision to halt compliance and enforcement activities under the Wildfire Act after the municipality said it learned of an administrative error in Wildfire regulations, which “effectively” ended the investigation.

On May 10th, 2024, the NRRM issued a full evacuation order for Fort Nelson due to the Parker Lake Wildfire.

In a news release, the NRRM said the Wildfire was caused by a downed power transmission line during a “high-wind event” during a significant multi-year drought period. 

More than 3,000 residents were evacuated from Fort Nelson to Fort St. John and other communities.

According to the NRRM release, 11 structures, including four homes, were lost due to the wildfire. 

Several hundred properties sustained damage and lost contents due to extended power and natural gas outages during the evacuation period, the NRRM said.

The release said emergency operations center (EOC) costs surpassed $1.5 million, with a total economic impact of $6.7 million on the community due to the halt in industry and the economy during the evacuation.