Evacuees in northeast B.C. escape raging wildfire
CBC
Poor internet connection? Access a low-bandwidth, accessible version of this story on CBC Lite.
The latest:
Thousands of people are out of their homes in the northeast B.C. community of Fort Nelson, and the Fort Nelson First Nation, as an out-of-control wildfire burns within kilometres of the town.
The Parker Lake wildfire was first detected just northwest of the community on Friday around 5:25 p.m. PT, but ballooned in size from half-a-square kilometre to nearly 17 square kilometres by Saturday morning — burning just three-and-a-half kilometres away from Fort Nelson, where it remains as of Saturday evening.
The blaze, which officials say started when a tree blown down by strong winds fell onto a power line, sent plumes of smoke toward the community amid an uptick in fire activity across the province with high temperatures.
Thousands of people had to flee the fire and head south to Fort St. John after an evacuation order was issued just before 7:30 p.m. PT on Friday.
"It was a crazy drive. Pretty smoky," said Deborah Erskine, who had to evacuate with her child Nova. "They've managed to keep the fire away from town as far as I know.... It was nose-to-nose traffic to get here last night."
While the drive normally takes around four hours, Erskine said it took nearly six hours to get to Fort St. John — arriving in the town around 3 a.m. PT after a "terrible" drive being blanketed by smoke.
Anyone with the means to travel further is urged to go another 440 kilometres south to Prince George, B.C., where a reception centre has been opened for people fleeing Fort Nelson, the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality (NRRM) said Saturday morning.
The evacuation order is the biggest one so far this year in B.C.'s early wildfire season, with the town having around 3,400 people as of the latest census.
Officials have long been worried about a "challenging" wildfire season this year, as a months-long drought persists provincewide and hot, dry conditions are forecast through the summer.
NRRM Mayor Rob Fraser told CBC News Saturday morning the evacuation of the town went well, and most people had left.
"I am not aware — in my 40 years of being in and around Fort Nelson — that we've ever had to evacuate the entire community," he said.
Chief Sharleen Gale, of the Fort Nelson First Nation, urged everyone in the community to follow the guidance of emergency officials.
A new study suggests that a colony of sea birds nesting on Cape Parry in the N.W.T. could face increasing threats related to increased Arctic shipping traffic and environmental change.
Albertans — predominantly members of the South Asian community — gathered at the Venice Banquet Hall in northeast Calgary for a town hall Saturday to address concerns around extortion and crime, with provincial and federal elected officials in attendance.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says his party's focus on affordability "is what unites all Conservatives," as the Tories grapple with another MP crossing the floor to join the Liberals — bringing them one seat shy of forming a majority government.
Toronto, York and Peel police are increasing their presence in the Jewish community during Hanukkah after the harrowing attack at Australia’s Bondi Beach on Sunday.
Another round of wintry weather is moving through Nova Scotia and P.E.I. on Sunday and will continue into Monday, with more snow and gusty winds, followed by frigid temperatures.
Hundreds of Londoners showed up at CBC's annual Make the Season Kind holiday event on Thursday in support of the London Food Bank.
The crisp weather didn’t stop the hundreds of people who took part in the annual Mummer’s parade in Bowring Park, St. John’s Saturday.
Wake Lloire loves how slow letter writing is, from composition right to its arrival at its final destination by mail. It's like a "little time capsule."
Experts are constantly warning the public to be on guard for new and increasingly convincing scams, but police say the holiday shopping season is especially fraught with risk.
A surgeon who used to work at Flin Flon's hospital says residents in the northwestern Manitoba city have been left in a precarious situation after more than five years without general surgery services.
Moubarak Bokhit Ali's memories of his home country of Sudan are punctuated by flashes of violence.
The man behind the Moose Jaw health centre that has claimed “a 100 per cent success rate in stopping the progression and in restoring function of people with ALS” says a recent CBC story about his company is evidence that he is seen as “a direct threat to the ALS drug industry.”
The Neighbour to Neighbour Centre’s trans and non-binary grocery program, which offers free food and household products to community members once a month, began with a simple question: how do we get free menstrual products to trans people without being awkward?