Prince George, B.C. – Progress continues to be made on the Little Bobtail Lake wildfire with broke out southwest of Prince George on the evening of May 8^th.

Fire Information Officer Erin Catherall at the site camp says the fire remains at approximately 25,000 hectares in size and is 80% contained.  “We are anticipating cooler and wetter conditions over the next couple days, however there are still hot spots and very dry areas within the fire perimeter.”  She says crews on Saturday were “continuing to wet line the fire perimeter as well as mop up any hot spots for flare-ups in the area.”

There are 8 helicopters, 46 pieces of heavy equipment and more than 320 personnel assigned to the fire.  The Wildfire Management Branch “is still encouraging recreationalists in the area to avoid going into the surrounding areas of the Little Bobtail Lake wildfire because there is still fire activity in the area and there is heavy operational activity as well.”  Catherall adds “for the safety of the crews and the public we advise that recreationalists find other places to go while this wildfire is still really active.

Officials continue to keep an eye on the weather with thunderstorms and lightning strikes a distinct possibility.  Meantime an evacuation order remains in effect for 80 people.  The RCMP and the Wildfire Management Branch are conducting a joint investigation into the cause of the fire.

The Klua Lakes fire 80 kilometres south of Fort Nelson is now estimated at 1600 hectares and has resulted in an evacuation alert for the 125 people in the community of Prophet River.  That blaze is an active interface fire which is believed to have been caused by lightning.

An Incident Management Team has arrived on scene and sustained action crew members are establishing fuel free areas around the community.