Northern Rockies Regional Municipality Mayor Rob Fraser says while emergency crews in Fort Nelson continue to fight wildfires bearing down on the community, some people are hindering efforts.
In an update video posted to Facebook Saturday, Fraser says officials are working on a recovery plan to get essential services back up an running.
But he says there have been problems with some of those who’ve stayed behind and defied the evacuation order, which is not helping the situation.
“They’re just causing us some problems, driving around, and the RCMP are spending time pulling people over and stopping them you know,” he said.
“So it’s a difficult thing. It’s a fine line that we have to walk to ensure that that that people are able to exercise their rights and we’re trying to be respectful of that.”
He points out that there are people taking photos damaged properties and spreading them on social media, which he calls “so insensitive and really unconscionable.”
“Can you can you imagine seeing your place for the first time on the internet, in a circumstance like this?
Fort Nelson, a community of about 4,700 residents, has been under an evacuation order since May 10, when winds fanned rapid growth of the Parker Lake fire.
On Friday, Evan Peck with the BC Wildfire Service said a low-pressure system brought much-needed rain over the last two days, along with cooler temperatures and lower humidity, making for “excellent” conditions for fire suppression efforts.
DriveBC says parts of Highway 77 and Highway 97 are also closed due to wildfire activity, and both the Patry Creek and Parker Lake wildfires in the province’s northeast remain out of control.
As of Saturday, there were 119 active wildfires burning across the province.
With files from Cole Schisler.