With fire activity increasing on the Eskal fire, the Prince George Fire Centre has restricted access to the area surrounding the fire.

The Eskal fire that's burning southeast of Fort Nelson has been active for the past 24 hours and continues to be active with the current weather conditions. It has reached 2,700 hectares and crews are on site assessing the situation. If conditions allow, crews will burn off fuels in some areas to reduce the risk of the fire crossing the Fort Nelson River.

For safety reasons, public access to the area will be restricted. Industry personnel will have limited access, when permitted with authorization from a forest official.

This order takes effect Aug. 17, 2012 and will remain in place until Sept. 30, 2012 or until the order is lifted.

The area affected is from Kilometre 0 on the Eskai Road north to the Fort Nelson River, down the Fort Nelson River to the mouth of the Sikanni Chief River, and covering the area west of the Fort Nelson River. The affected area is approximately 40,000 hectares. Click on the following link for a map. http://bcwildfire.ca/ftp/!Project/WildfireNews/8172012~50419_Closure%20Area%20Aug17.pdf

For more information on fires of note in B.C., go to: www.bcwildfire.ca

To report a wildfire or unattended campfire, please call *5555 on your cell phone or 1 800 663-5555 toll-free.

Learn More:

You can follow the latest B.C. wildfire news:

On Twitter: http://twitter.com/BCGovFireInfo

On Facebook: http://facebook.com/BCForestFireInfo

Contact:

Jillian Chimko
Fire Information Officer
Wildfire Management Branch
Prince George Fire Centre
250 565-6129 (office)
250 961-4176 (cell)