Officials have confirmed that multiple homes have been damaged, and some destroyed, as a wildfire west of Fort Nelson, B.C., continues to burn Sunday.
In an update on Saturday, the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality (NRRM) said 10 properties were damaged and four homes lost due to the Parker Lake fire, which started on May 10.
The fire currently covers an area of around 123 square kilometres and is burning just west of the community in northeast B.C. It resulted in more than 4,700 people being placed on evacuation order from the town and the nearby Fort Nelson First Nation.
NRRM Mayor Rob Fraser had previously condemned residents who shared videos of the fire, saying officials were working to confirm the extent of damage and reaching out to property owners directly.
The NRRM update on Saturday stated that officials had completed structural damage assessments and reached out to a “majority” of property owners about the destruction.
On Friday, B.C.’s emergency management minister confirmed the building damage, but says there have been no new reports of buildings burning in recent days.
Speaking at a news conference, Bowinn Ma confirmed early reports that some buildings had been damaged in the immediate aftermath of the fire starting, but said she has not heard about any additional losses since then.
“We are not aware of any new structure losses since May 10, May 11,” Ma said.
Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma addressed concerns that buildings have been lost to the Parker Lake wildfire near Fort Nelson, B.C.
On Sunday, the B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) said in an update that the forest around the wildfire had dried up after a bout of rain late last week had passed through.
“With higher temperatures and lower relative humidity, it is possible that fire behaviour will increase [Sunday] in certain areas,” the service said.
The BCWS added, however, that overall conditions remain favourable for firefighting on Sunday, and crews were set to continue making direct attempts to control the Parker Lake wildfire.
The much larger Patry Creek wildfire — a holdover fire that first started in 2023 — is burning around 25 km north of Fort Nelson.
“The Patry Creek wildfire does not pose an immediate threat to Fort Nelson, but conditions can rapidly change if the area receives strong northerly winds and continuous dry conditions,” the BCWS says.
Fort Nelson is in the province’s far northeast, about 1,000 kilometres north of Vancouver and about 800 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.
Officials begin re-entry plans
In another update Sunday, the NRRM said that it had begun readying essential services in the town in preparation for residents to return — by providing access to utilities, medical services and grocery retailers.
The regional district cautioned, however, that the community has not yet been given the all-clear by firefighting crews to allow residents to return.
It added both Highway 97 and Highway 77 remain closed due to wildfires, but residents are now allowed to apply for permits which allow people to re-enter the town if they need to feed livestock or maintain critical infrastructure.
“Getting our community home is the [district’s] focus, and we just ask for your patience as we work to get to that point,” the NRRM wrote.