Prince George, B.C.-  The Siphon Creek fire, which  has  crossed over  into Alberta is now 30% contained.

That fire  has  burned  41,470 hectares on the BC side,  a further 17,160 hectares  in Alberta.

“We have 184 fire fighters,  eight helicopters and 8 heavy pieces of equipment working that fire, along with an eleven member Incident Management Team” says Amanda Reynolds,  Information Officer with the Prince Georg Fire Centre.

She says the  precipitation over the weekend has helped  but  the weather is  predicted to return to warm  dry conditions  for the balance of the week  and gusty winds are   on the way “Wind gusts  could be up to 50 km per hour.”

The machine guard along the south and west flanks are nearing completion. Crews are waiting for the right weather conditions to implement planned ignitions along the guard. Large plumes of smoke may be seen, while these planned ignitions are occurring, from Fort St. John and surrounding areas.

Crews have also made significant progress on the Beatton Airport Road Fire.  It is now  45% contained having already burned 15 thousand hectares.   That fire  is being attacked by  141 fire fighters, 8 helicopters and  16 pieces of heavy equipment.

Crews will continue putting in control lines and mopping up preparing to conduct a series of burn-offs as conditions allow.

Although fire behaviour has been less active over the last few days, Reynolds says  the fire continues to burn  “We are not out of the woods yet”.

Fire suppression crews on the Beatton Airport road fire, are strongly advising any members of the public who have, or intend to enter the area to remain OUT. The BCWS takes the safety of it’s people seriously – please refrain from entering the area as it may put both your and our crew’s safety at risk. Equipment and crews will be travelling in the area and visibility will be reduced due to smoke.

Evacuation alerts for both fires remain in effect.