Skip to Main content

18.26°^C Vancouver

News Entertainment Sports Videos Shows Podcast Contact Us

May 17, 2024 2:45 PM - The Canadian Press

Crews fighting wildfires near Fort Nelson hope skies open up after rainy Thursday

Share On

crews-fighting-wildfires-near-fort-nelson-hope-skies-open-up-after-rainy-thursday

While more rain is forecast in the coming days, Peck says there's not been nearly enough precipitation yet to overcome long-term drought conditions in northeast British Columbia.(Photo: The Canadian Press)

A rainy Thursday in and around Fort Nelson was exactly what fire crews were looking for.

In a video released late Thursday night by the B.C. Wildfire Service, fire behaviour specialist for the Parker Lake and Patry Creek blazes Evan Peck said recent rain was much needed and made for excellent conditions for fire suppression crews.

While more rain is forecast in the coming days, Peck says there's not been nearly enough precipitation yet to overcome long-term drought conditions in northeast British Columbia.

Crews continue to battle the Parker Lake and Patry Creek blazes, both of which are threatening Fort Nelson and are classified as out of control.

To date, the Parker Lake wildfire burning two kilometres west of town has forced thousands to evacuate and is holding steady at 123 square kilometres in size.

The Patry Creek wildfire is much larger, with the latest data from the B.C. Wildfire Service Friday morning indicating that the fire burning 25 kilometres north of Fort Nelson had swelled to 718 square kilometres.

Latest news

CanadaSep 17, 2026

911 Service Disrupted Across Several Canadian Provinces

911 emergency services were temporarily disrupted across several Canadian provinces early Thursday morning, including Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Manitoba. The outage was reported in multiple areas, prompting police departments to advise residents to use non-emergency numbers or Wi-Fi calling to reach emergency services. Bell Canada confirmed that a technical issue occurred on its network at around 3:13 a.m., after which backup systems were activated to route calls to emergency services. By around 6 a.m., police departments in Toronto, Peel, York, Durham, Hamilton and Winni

trump-directs-removal-of-canadian-goods-from-u-s-government-procurement

CanadaSep 17, 2026

Trump directs removal of Canadian goods from U.S. government procurement

U.S. President Donald Trump has signed a memorandum directing his administration to examine steps that could restrict the purchase of Canadian-origin goods and services for the operations of the U.S. federal government. The memorandum assigns the Office of Management and Budget director and the U.S. Trade Representative to identify Canadian-origin goods and services covered by government procurement rules. They have also been directed to take legally available steps to remove or restrict those products from the federal procurement system. The Trump administration has described the move as a re

30-year-old-womans-death-in-fort-st-james-deemed-suspicious-rcmp-investigating

30-Year-Old Woman’s Death in Fort St. James Deemed Suspicious, RCMP Investigating

The B.C. RCMP’s Major Crime Unit is investigating the death of a 30-year-old woman in Fort St. James as suspicious. The woman has been identified as Dayna Monk, and investigators are appealing to the public for information that could assist with the case. According to Fort St. James RCMP, emergency health services were called to a home in the 400-block of Stuart Drive on May 31 following reports that a woman was experiencing cardiac arrest. Despite resuscitation efforts, the woman could not be saved. Initial investigations did not indicate any criminal involvement in her death. However, foll

david-eby-instructs-ndp-to-be-ready-for-the-election

David Eby Instructs NDP to Be Ready for the Election

British Columbia Premier David Eby says he has told NDP legislators to be “election ready” amid the disruption caused by the ongoing trade war with the United States. Eby said Cheryl Oates, his former acting chief of staff, will manage the NDP’s campaign for the next provincial election whenever it is called. However, he did not announce any date for the vote. The premier said he has informed both Elections B.C. and the NDP caucus that they need to be prepared for an election. His comments come as the Opposition B.C. Conservatives face internal changes, with nine members having left the

surrey-mayor-brenda-locke-slams-release-of-high-risk-offenders

Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke Slams Release of High-Risk Offenders

Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke has expressed strong concern after two high-risk offenders were released into the city within just two days. Following a public warning issued by the Surrey Police Service, Locke said violent offenders such as Jonathan Muzichka and Skyler Pelletier should not be released to live in Surrey. She said Surrey is home to more than 700,000 people and allowing high-risk offenders to repeatedly settle in the community raises serious concerns about public safety. Locke said she supports rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders, but the responsibility of managing high-risk

Related News

30-Year-Old Woman’s Death in Fort St. James Deemed Suspicious, RCMP Investigating

30-Year-Old Woman’s Death in Fort St. James Deemed Suspicious, RCMP Investigating

The B.C. RCMP’s Major Crime Unit is investigating the death of a 30-year-old woman in Fort St. James as suspicious. The woman has been identified as Dayna Monk, and investigators are appealing to the public for information that could assist with the case. According to Fort St. James RCMP, emergency health services were called to a home in the 400-block of Stuart Drive on May 31 following reports that a woman was experiencing cardiac arrest. Despite resuscitation efforts, the woman could not be saved. Initial investigations did not indicate any criminal involvement in her death. However, foll

David Eby Instructs NDP to Be Ready for the Election

David Eby Instructs NDP to Be Ready for the Election

British Columbia Premier David Eby says he has told NDP legislators to be “election ready” amid the disruption caused by the ongoing trade war with the United States. Eby said Cheryl Oates, his former acting chief of staff, will manage the NDP’s campaign for the next provincial election whenever it is called. However, he did not announce any date for the vote. The premier said he has informed both Elections B.C. and the NDP caucus that they need to be prepared for an election. His comments come as the Opposition B.C. Conservatives face internal changes, with nine members having left the

Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke Slams Release of High-Risk Offenders

Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke Slams Release of High-Risk Offenders

Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke has expressed strong concern after two high-risk offenders were released into the city within just two days. Following a public warning issued by the Surrey Police Service, Locke said violent offenders such as Jonathan Muzichka and Skyler Pelletier should not be released to live in Surrey. She said Surrey is home to more than 700,000 people and allowing high-risk offenders to repeatedly settle in the community raises serious concerns about public safety. Locke said she supports rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders, but the responsibility of managing high-risk

Legals

Journalism code of ethics

© 2021 AKASH Broadcasting Inc.

MANAGED BY STRATWIT

useful links

Accessibility Plan

Broadcasting Notice of Consultation

BC Children's Hospital