A lightning-caused fire is burning about 1.5 kilometres south of the Canada-U.S. border and about 18 kilometres southwest of the community of Newgate (about 65 kilometres southeast of Cranbrook).

Effective at noon on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2017, campfires will once again be allowed in some areas of the Northwest Fire Centre: the Skeena Stikine Forest District (the Cassiar Fire Zone and Bulkley Fire Zone) and the Coast Mountain Forest District (the Skeena Fire Zone).

For reasons of public safety, the BC Wildfire Service is implementing additional road closures around the White River Complex wildfire, which is burning about 47 kilometres northeast of Canal Flats in the Southeast Fire Centre.

BC Timber Sales (BCTS) forestry operations in the Snowden Forest, north of John Hart Lake, are planned to restart in spring 2018, with operational phases continuing through 2019.

A cold front bringing strong and variable winds, with gusts up to 60 km/h, is expected to move through the Cariboo Fire Centre on Friday, Aug. 18 and into the weekend. There is also a risk of lightning throughout the fire centre.

With streams and rivers in the Middle Fraser, Similkameen, Coldwater, Nicola and Kettle watersheds experiencing very low flows, and weather conditions expected to remain dry, residents of the Cariboo and Thompson-Okanagan regions are urged to reduce their water consumption.

An independent, respected national water and governance expert has been commissioned to support the review of the pollution in the Hullcar Aquifer, recently announced by Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy George Heyman.

Small businesses can immediately access emergency financial support in areas that have been impacted by the B.C. wildfires, Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development Minister Doug Donaldson announced today.

Smoke originating from wildfires in the Prince George Fire Centre and Cariboo Fire Centre has been visible in most areas of the Nadina, Bulkley and Skeena fire zones in the Northwest Fire Centre. This smoke is expected to linger in the area for the next few days.

With no relief in sight in the weather forecast, B.C.’s wildfire emergency is expected to continue over the next few weeks. To ensure that adequate resources are available to continue in the fight, more international personnel are on the way.