May 17, 2016 - 11:29 AM
KAMLOOPS, B.C. - Winds are expected to remain strong over northeastern British Columbia Tuesday, but fire officials are relieved gusts forecast to top 60 kilometres an hour never arrived.
Environment Canada was calling for strong gusts Monday and Wildfire information officer Kevin Skrepnek agrees conditions were challenging to start the week, but he also says crews are thankful for more moderate winds.
He says firefighters are looking toward Thursday's forecast of rain and much cooler temperatures as a total of 69 wildfires are burning across B.C., most of them in the northeast.
The Wildfire Service says the Siphon Creek fire, blazing along the B.C./Alberta boundary northeast of Fort St. John, now covers 754-square kilometres, while an evacuation order remains posted for the Beatton Airport Road wildfire north of the city.
Heavy smoke continues to complicate efforts on the 30-square kilometre Halfway River fire between Hudson's Hope and Fort St. John.
Skrepnek also says there are concerns about a nearly two-square kilometre wildfire discovered Monday and expected to grow near Palmer Mountain, in the Cariboo about 150 kilometres west of Williams Lake. (CHNL)
News from © The Canadian Press, 2016