As of noon on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2017, an Order of Restricted Access will be in effect for Crown land around the Big Bend Creek, Tatelkuz Lake, Lucas Lake and Chedakuz Creek wildfires southwest of Vanderhoof.

This area restriction has been put in place to protect the safety of the public, as well as firefighting personnel as they continue fire suppression activities. It will remain in effect until the public is otherwise notified.

While this Order of Restricted Access is in effect, no one is allowed to remain in or enter the designated restricted area unless that person is authorized to enter the area to travel to and from work or is a local resident who is travelling to and from his or her residence.  

The restricted area encompasses four fires of note:

• Tatelkuz Lake fire: This fire has burned about 1,271 hectares about five kilometres west of Tatelkuz Lake, about 94 kilometres southwest of Vanderhoof. It was caused by lightning and was first reported on July 7, 2017.
• Big Bend Creek fire: This fire has burned about 2,062 hectares about 66 kilometres southwest of Vanderhoof. It was caused by lightning and was first reported on July 8, 2017.
• Lucas Lake fire: This fire has burned about 6,300 hectares east of Lucas Lake, about 90 kilometres southwest of Vanderhoof. It was caused by lightning and was first reported on July 7, 2017.
• Chedakuz Creek fire: This fire has burned about 2,355 hectares about 90 kilometres southwest of Vanderhoof. It was caused by lightning and was first reported on July 7, 2017.

This Order of Restricted Access applies to all Crown land within the geographic boundaries outlined below:

• all roads accessed by the Kluskus Lavoie Forest Service Road (Gold Road) beyond the 13-kilometre mark
• all roads accessed by the Kluskus Forest Service Road beyond the 77-kilometre mark
• all roads accessed by the Kluskus 500 Road beyond the 28-kilometre mark (the 528 sign) just west of Kenney Dam

A map of the affected areas is available online at:  http://ow.ly/wZ0q30ebUg3

Evacuation alerts issued by the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako and the Cariboo Regional District remain in place. For more information about these alerts, please visit:

• Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako: http://www.rdbn.bc.ca/
• Cariboo Regional District: http://www.cariboord.bc.ca/

Smoky conditions may persist in the interior in the coming weeks. For information on air quality and smoke forecasts for Western Canada, visit the BC Air Quality website: www.bcairquality.ca/bluesky/west/index.html

To report a wildfire or open burning violation, call 1 800 663-5555 toll-free or *5555 on a cellphone. For the latest information on current wildfire activity, burning restrictions, road closures and air quality advisories, go to: http://www.bcwildfire.ca

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