Fort St. John resident concerned over evacuation alerts

As four fires burn near Fort St. John and evacuation alerts are in place, one resident is calling the situation “unsettling.”

The BC Wildfire Service says crews are fighting two major fires close to the city, as well as two more to the north and the west.

Ashley DeRose told CityNews things started to feel more urgent for her and other locals Monday night.

“Last night, we did have some gusty winds that created quite a large amount of smoke and ash. That created a little bit of panic,” she said.

“I think the community as a whole felt very stressed. We had quite a bit of lineup in the grocery stores as well as for fuel and things like that.”

DeRose says people went back to work Tuesday and took things “hour by hour.”

She explains the community has done a “pretty amazing” job pulling together with the nearby wildfires looming.

“Making sure that our neighbors, our friends, our family, everybody’s okay. Making sure everybody has somewhere to go should it become more urgent,” DeRose said.

All of the nearby fires fall in the Peace River Regional District, with the fire at Stoddart Creek being the most prominent, estimated at 13,000 hectares.

Read more:

• Fort St. John under evacuation alert due to wildfire

• B.C. wildfires put all of Fort St. John on alert, nearby areas on evacuation order

• B.C. desperate for June rain amid early wildfire season

Work on the $16-billion BC Hydro Site C Dam project near Fort St. John has also been put on pause due to the threat from the Stoddart Creek wildfire, taking just under 2,200 camp workers off the job.

Around 5 p.m. Tuesday, the BC Wildfire Service announced on Twitter it still had crews working away at putting out the blazes, marking an improvement from the “aggressive fire behaviour on all fires” it reported Monday night.

“#BCWildfire continues to respond to wildfires within the North Peace Complex with aerial support, heavy equipment, and upwards of 300 firefighters,” it said in a tweet.

#BCWildfire continues to respond to wildfires within the North Peace Complex with aerial support, heavy equipment and upwards of 300 firefighters. Scott Rennick provides a situational update: https://t.co/PrFD3XYUVz #FortStJohn #PrinceGeorge #FSJ #BCHwy97

— BC Wildfire Service (@BCGovFireInfo) May 16, 2023

If Fort St. John is ultimately evacuated, it would mean displacing more than 21,000 residents.

In addition to an evacuation alert for the entirety of Fort St. John and the District of Taylor, the fire has prompted evacuations of other communities including that of the Blueberry River First Nations.

With files from Hana Mae Nassar