Canadian crews battle wildfire threatening remote western town

OTTAWA – Firefighters on May 13 battled a large wildfire heading towards a remote western Canadian town as winds and tinder-dry conditions threatened to spread the flames further, a provincial minister said.

The

largely evacuated town of Fort Nelson

in British Columbia is in the line of one of the season’s first major wildfires, which have spread to 10,000ha across western Canada and are sending smoke plumes over five provinces, as well as parts of the northern US.

Ms Bowinn Ma, British Columbia’s Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness, said conditions in the north of the Pacific province – an area that includes Fort Nelson – were extremely challenging.

“With no major precipitation in the forecast ahead and winds that can pick up at any time, we... are extremely concerned,” she told a televised briefing. “We may begin to see volatile wildfire activity later this afternoon.”

The fire, which started on May 10, covered more than 5,280ha and had reached 2.5km west of Fort Nelson by May 13 morning.

After its worst-ever wildfire season in 2023, Canada experienced one of its warmest winters, with low to non-existent snow in many areas, raising fears of a hot summer triggering blazes in forests and wild lands amid an ongoing drought.

North-eastern British Columbia and the northern region of neighbouring Alberta are the heartland of Canada’s energy industry. There have been no reports of any disruption to oil and gas extraction.

In Alberta, the authorities said there were two wildfires of note, including one near Fort McMurray.

In 2016, a huge wildfire in the major oil town forced the evacuation of 90,000 residents and shut in more than a million barrels per day of oil output.

Six crews of firefighters, backed by 13 helicopters, worked on May 13 to establish a containment line near Fort McMurray.  

Helicopters equipped with night vision had dropped water on the fire with buckets overnight, the local municipality said.

Residents were placed on an evacuation alert on May 10, though favourable weather conditions have kept the fire about 16km away, officials said on May 13. Light rain showers were expected to aid firefighting, they added.

“At the moment, the winds are not pushing in the direction of the community. But of course conditions are always subject to change,” Alberta Wildfire official Christie Tucker told a televised briefing.

The federal government in April said Canada faces another catastrophic wildfire season as it forecast higher-than-normal spring and summer temperatures across much of the country. REUTERS