The China Nose fire near Houston – photo courtesy BC Wildfire Management  Branch

Prince George, B.C. – The China Nose fire near Houston remains 20% contained due to some help from mother nature.

"It's a little bit drizzly here this morning which is great news. Temperatures are cooler which allows for some recovery of the fuel types and increased moisture so we're going to be taking advantage of this situation to help keep this fire contained," says fire information officer Mike McCully.

He adds the lightning caused blaze remains at 3,700 hectares in size and says there are currently 140 firefighters on the ground with 15 helicopters and 30 pieces of heavy equipment on site.

McCully says the evacuation order and alerts remain in place (see previous story).

As for the Tommy Lakes blaze three and a half hours north of Fort St. John, fire information officer Jill Kelsh says the fire has grown from 2,500 hectares to 4,400 hectares since yesterday.

She says it remains a modified response fire meaning no crews are actively battling the blaze instead just monitoring it by helicopter.

Kelsh also says yesterday's evacuation order remains in place (covering Electoral Area B, see previous story) and says an area restriction will go into effect today at noon.

She says the area is basically in the same area as the evacuation alert but notes the oil and gas industry will still be allowed to continue their operations.