Evacuation order for Fort Nelson to be lifted Monday, says mayor

The evacuation order for Fort Nelson and the Fort Nelson First Nation will be lifted Monday at 8:00 a.m., Rob Fraser, the mayor of the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality (NRRM) announced Sunday.

The NRRM says that although the order is being lifted and BC Wildfire has deemed it safe to re-enter the community, there are still active areas.

An evacuation alert will therefore remain in effect.

In addition to this, a Prohibit Entry Order will remain for several properties that were damaged and are considered unsafe.

The NRRM says all evacuees can expect a notification through Voyent Alert when the rescind is officially in effect.

Weather helping firefighters in northeast B.C., but conditions could change at anytime, says BC Wildfire Service

Much of the province is seeing rain and cooler temperatures Sunday, which has been a real blessing for wildfire fighters in the northeast.

BC Wildfire Service fire behaviour analyst Eric Kopetski says the area will see variable fire behaviour, with some areas getting rain and others staying dry. However, he points out, the area is still considered to be in a very severe drought condition, which is causing extra challenges for firefighters.

“What’s happening is having lots of trees come down because of the drought, so the fire is burning the roots out,” Kopetski said.

“Trees are falling down. And this is making it very difficult and time consuming for our crews to mop up.”

The BC Wildfire Service says drier conditions are expected in coming days, as well as stronger winds that could lead to increased fire behaviour.

Brett Soderholm, fire weather forecaster, says a big concern over the next couple days is the possiblity of thunderstorms developing in the area.

“There’s a lot of instability in the atmosphere,” Soderholm said. “And the concern from a wildfire perspective is that these thunderstorms may generate some lightning in addition to some gusty winds.”

Thousands of residents remain evacuated from Fort Nelson and the Fort Nelson First Nation Sunday.

Officials are hopeful residents will be able to return some time in the coming week, but that is dependent on fire activity.

With files from Cole Schisler.