Evacuees in northeast B.C. escape raging wildfire

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THE LATEST:

• Residents of Fort Nelson, as well as the Fort Nelson First Nation, have been told to leave their homes immediately due to the nearby Parker Lake wildfire.
• The fire was about 12 kilometres west of Fort Nelson when the order was issued, shortly before 7:30 p.m. PT Friday. It has grown exponentially, and is now within 3.5 kilometres of the town.
• Evacuees are being told to drive approximately four hours south to Fort St. John’s North Peace Arena, located at 9805 96 Avenue.
• Those who cannot drive themselves are urged to call 250-775-0933 for support. For emergencies, dial 911.
• Learn more about how to find the full list of wildfires, highway closures and evacuation orders and alerts.

Thousands of people are out of their homes in the northeast B.C. community of Fort Nelson, and the Fort Nelson First Nation, as an out-of-control wildfire is burning within kilometres of the town.

The Parker Lake wildfire was first detected just northwest of the community of about 3,600 people, on Friday around 5:25 p.m. PT. It ballooned in size from half-a-square kilometre to nearly 17 square kilometres by Saturday morning.

The blaze sent plumes of smoke toward the community, amid an uptick in fire activity across the province due to high temperatures, with the B.C. Wildfire Service saying the blaze was within three-and-a-half kilometres of the town on Saturday morning.

Thousands of people had to flee the fire and head south to the town of Fort St. John after an evacuation order was issued just before 7:30 p.m. PT on Friday.

“It was a crazy drive, pretty smoky,” said Deborah Erskine, who had to evacuate with her child Nova. “They’ve managed to keep the fire away from town as far as I know … It was nose-to-nose traffic to get here last night.”

While the drive normally takes around four hours, Erskine said it took nearly six hours to get to Fort St. John — arriving in the town around 3 a.m. PT after a “terrible” drive being blanketed by smoke.

WATCH | Evacuee describes fleeing the area: 

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