Prince George, B.C. – The B.C. Wildfire Service has provided an update on the wildfires that have been receiving attention in the province.

In the Prince George Fire Centre there have been 100 fires since April 1^st, burning just over 28,000 hectares.   The figures are significant on a comparative basis as last year during the same period the Fire Centre had only 19 fires that had burned 76 hectares.  On a 10-year average, at this time of year the region sees 38 fires burning 3,100 hectares.

The Wildfire Service indicates it definitely has been an early start to the fire season this year however, it is not necessarily an indication of the fire season that lies ahead.  The fire season is dictated more by the amount of rain received through the rest of May and into June, which determines how dry the forest fuels are.  Right now the forest floors and fuel sources are drier than usual for this time of year, especially in northern areas such as the Peace region.

Firefighters in the Peace region have been getting a bit of a reprieve from the weather this weekend.  Higher humidity and spotty showers were helpful on Saturday, both on the Beatton Airport Road fire and on the Siphon Creek fire.  There was some precipitation including snow overnight and early this morning which, while not extinguishing the fires, has allowed crews to work on areas they could not get to earlier, building guards and doing some mop-up work on portions of those fires.

Some rain is expected along with gusty winds this afternoon, but starting again on Monday and going into the week the forecast is calling for a return to the warm and dry trend.

The Beatton fire northwest of Fort St John is estimated at 15,000 hectares and the Siphon Creek fire northeast of Fort St John covers just over 29,000 hectares on the B.C. side and just under 12,000 hectares on the Alberta side of the border.  The total area covered is 41,400 hectares.

BC crews had been fighting the entire fire in the two provinces but as of today Alberta resources are now dealing with their side of the fire.

The Peace River Regional District has now rescinded the Evacuation Orders for both the Beatton Airport Road and Siphon Creek fires and have revised the Evacuation Alert areas.  Information on the alerts can be found at the district’s website at www.prrd.bc.ca.  Homeowners are allowed to return to their homes but Wildfire officials are asking that the public remain out of those areas so that crews can continue to work on the fires.