The China Nose fire – photo courtesy the BC Wildfire Management Branch

Houston, B.C. – A bit of good news to report regarding the China Nose fire 15 km southeast of Houston.

"The wind event last night was less significant than predicted, resulting in minimal fire growth," reports the Northwest Fire Centre.

"Crews and equipment worked hard through the night on primary containment efforts and will continue to do so through the day, as conditions allow. Helicopters will be bucketing water onto the fire today with potential air tanker support in an effort to strengthen fire guards."

The fire is also now 20% contained.

The 3,700 hectare blaze has forced an Evacuation Order (affecting 120 homes) and an Evacuation Alert (affecting 574 homes) but Highway 16 has reopened to traffic from four kilometres east of Topley to 18 km west of Burns Lake.

The suspension of CN's operations in the area remains in place.