Town of Fort Nelson, B.C., ordered to evacuate due to wildfire

The entire town of Fort Nelson, B.C., as well as the nearby Fort Nelson First Nation, has been ordered to evacuate due to an out-of-control wildfire.

The entire town of Fort Nelson, B.C., as well as the nearby Fort Nelson First Nation, has been ordered to evacuate due to an out-of-control wildfire.

The blaze was discovered Friday afternoon approximately 12 kilometres west of the community in northeastern B.C., and has been growing rapidly ever since.

"Residents are advised to evacuate the area immediately and begin driving south towards Fort St. John," the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality said on a social media shortly after 7 p.m. Friday.

"If you have a recreational vehicle, or your own vehicle, fuel stations are being planned along the route south. If you know of and have the ability to take additional passengers who may need assistance or transportation, please consider doing so."

Earlier in the evening, the BC Wildfire Service said it was conducting "tactical evacuations" of neighbourhoods near the blaze.

In posts on social media, the BCWS said it is responding to the "evolving incident" along with the Fort Nelson Fire Department and RCMP.

The service said the new blaze was estimated at 50 hectares in size in its post shortly before 5:30 p.m. Just an hour later, however, that size had been revised upwards to 400 hectares. By 8 p.m., the fire's reported size had doubled again to 800 hectares.