The Lejac fire, about 5 kilometres east of Fraser Lake has been 70 per cent contained and 70 per cent guarded as of 8:27 a.m. on May 14, according to an update on the BC Wildfire Service website.
There were 56 firefighters on site with 10 pieces of heavy equipment and two helicopters.
The blaze is suspected to be human-caused.
Molly Blower, information officer at the Prince George Fire Centre said the first phone report for the fire came in at 3 p.m. on May 11. And by 8 p.m. on May 12, the fire was categorized as being held.
LOOK BACK: Fire breaks out near Fraser Lake
Gerry Thiessen, chair of the board of directors of the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako (RDBN) said people need to be careful with campfires over the Victoria Day long weekend.
“We live here so we can enjoy the back country and go camping and stuff like that. But it is really important that this long weekend people are very careful and are making sure their fires are out and all that is taken care of. If we get wind like we did on Saturday, it could be bad again,” Thiessen said.
“The bush is so dry. With the drought we have had and the lack of snow, we really need to be careful,” he added.
The size of the wildfire grew very quickly from 100 hectares towards the end of May 11, to 260 hectares the next day and an evacuation order was in effect. However, Blower said firefighters made significant progress on May 12 and the size of the fire had been revised from 260 hectares to 236 hectares.
READ MORE: Evacuation order for Fraser Lake fire lifted
The state of emergency and evacuation order were lifted on May 12.
The evacuation alert remains in effect, and covers the area south of Highway 16 to south of Roys Lake, and west and east of Seaspunkut 4 (Lejac).
Thiessen said the evacuation alert will remain in effect for a few more days, until there is some rain.
In the evacuation area near Fraser Lake, there were 40 homes that had alerts delivered to them, Thiessen said, adding that the area in Lejac that was given an evacuation order is of significant size. However, there were a number of homes currently not inhabited.
For people in need of emergency services, Thiessen said, there are emergency social services groups in Fort St. James, Fraser Lake, Vanderhoof, Burns Lake and Prince George.
Aman Parhar
Editor, Vanderhoof Omineca Express
aman.parhar@ominecaexpress.com
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