Extra police, power generators sent to help secure evacuated Fort Nelson, B.C.

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The mayor of the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality is condemning videos posted to social media showing wildfire-damaged property near Fort Nelson, B.C.

It’s been one week since more than 4,700 people from Fort Nelson and the Fort Nelson First Nation were ordered to leave their homes as the fast-growing Park Lake wildfire, sparked by a downed tree hitting a power line, grew rapidly on the evening of May 10.

In a video posted to Facebook this week, several properties can be seen near the origin point of the fire. Some are standing and appear unharmed while others show visible damage. It is not immediately apparent what type of buildings were lost.

At some properties, buildings appear to have been reduced to blackened rubble. Burnt trees, grass and a scorched vehicle can also be seen.

Fraser has been warning people against circulating images of burned buildings, saying officials are working to confirm the extent of damage and reach out to property owners directly.

Fraser said all of the damaged buildings have been outside of town along the Alaska Highway near where the fire started. He has also spoken out against the images being shared before property owners could be contacted privately.

“Could you imagine, for the first time, seeing that structures on your property have been damaged because you saw it on social media? It’s just, it’s tragic,” he told CBC News on Thursday.

B.C.’s emergency management minister also confirmed the damage, but says there have been no new reports of buildings burning in recent days.

Speaking at a news conference Friday, Bowinn Ma confirmed early reports that some buildings had been damaged in the immediate aftermath of the fire starting, but said she has not heard about any additional losses since then.

“We are not aware of any new structure losses since May 10, May 11,” she said.

No new structural losses since first days of Fort Nelson wildfire, minister says

Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma addressed concerns that buildings have been lost to the Parker Lake wildfire near Fort Nelson, B.C.

Fraser said those who have stayed behind in defiance of the evacuation order need to register with authorities to make sure they are part of the co-ordinated firefighting effort.

“The law says those people, if they’re not part of the effort [to fight fires], they need to be staying on their properties if they didn’t evacuate when there’s an evacuation order,” Fraser said in an interview with the Canadian Press on Friday.

“The RCMP don’t know these people, one from the next, unless it’s a fire vehicle, and so they end up stopping somebody in a private vehicle when they should be out there looking for looters and checking properties.”

The municipality has also warned people in the evacuation zone to limit their use of sprinklers and hoses to ensure there is enough water to support firefighting efforts

Extra supports headed to region

Rain and cooler temperatures have helped firefighters battle the flames in recent days, but officials say it’s still too soon to guess when residents will be allowed to return.

“At this point in time, it wouldn’t be right to try and work out when we’ll be able to recommend rescinding the order on Fort Nelson,” said Cliff Chapman of the B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) at the Friday afternoon news conference with Ma.

“We are continuing to operate in and around the community of Fort Nelson and when it is safe, we will make that recommendation.”

In the meantime, extra resources are being sent to help secure Fort Nelson, which is in the province’s far northeast, about 1,000 kilometres north of Vancouver and about 800 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.

On Thursday, RCMP confirmed they have sent additional officers to patrol the community and outlying areas, including the Fort Nelson First Nation and Prophet River First Nations, to ensure homes and businesses are secure.

There have been reports of looters taking advantage of the emptied town. RCMP told CBC News on Monday that they have made arrests in connection to property crimes, but have yet to provide more details.

At a community meeting held Wednesday, Fraser, who has remained in Fort Nelson, said he has seen a strong police presence and not witnessed any damage to businesses, adding he is confident that if there have been crimes, “the usual suspects will be dealt with.”

In addition to extra police, B.C. Hydro said Thursday it is sending backup generators to Fort Nelson to ensure a steady power supply.

The utility said it had cut power to roughly 100 customers northwest of the community at the request of the BCWS, with plans to restore it as soon as possible.

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It also said that while power remains on for the rest of Fort Nelson, a transmission line has been damaged by wildfires, and the gas processing plant that powers its local generating facility has been shut down as a precaution.

With all that in play, the service said it is sending emergency mobile generating units to Fort Nelson to ensure a lack of power does not become an issue for crews or other essential services still in the region.

The BCWS is in the process of setting up a fire camp at the Fort Nelson airport, as crews dig in for the long haul to get the fires under control.

Ma also announced Friday that a second incident management team has been sent to the Prince George Fire Centre, which includes Fort Nelson, to ensure resources are properly used in rural parts of the province.

As of Friday afternoon, 125 fires were recorded burning across the B.C., most of which are in the northeastern part of the province.

‘Excellent’ conditions for fire crews

In a video update posted late Thursday, the BCWS shared a positive message after a day of rain and even some snow in the Fort Nelson region.

BCWS fire behaviour specialist Evan Peck said a low-pressure system had brought much-needed rain over the last two days along with cooler temperatures and lower humidity, making for “excellent” conditions for fire suppression efforts.

In a video released by the service, Peck says there has been minimal growth of the Parker Lake fire, which was mapped at 123 square kilometres in size as of late Thursday.

Peck says the weather has also dampened the much larger Patry Creek fire, a holdover blaze from last year that’s burning as close as 25 kilometres north of Fort Nelson.

Peck says conditions should remain favourable over the next several days.

However, he said it’s not enough to break the long-term drought in northeastern B.C., which has been experiencing low precipitation and parched land since last year.

In an interview with CBC’s Daybreak North Friday morning, Ma said having such a massive evacuation effort so early in the year was “quite concerning.”

She underlined the “prolonged, provincewide, very significant drought” that has officials gearing up for what could be another long, difficult summer and fall.

“We’re on high alert,” Ma said.

B.C. open for travel

But, Ma said, that doesn’t mean she wants people to avoid travelling to and within the province over the May long weekend.

“British Columbia is a huge province,” she said in Friday’s news conference. “We have a lot to offer and we want to share it.”

The only caveat, she said, was that travellers should avoid the Fort Nelson region and take proper precautions by signing up for emergency alerts and looking up campfire bans before heading into the backcountry.

“Know before you go,” she said.