HIGHWAY 37 North has been closed 25 kilometres north of Good Hope Lake toward the border with the Yukon after a forest fire grew quickly in size this afternoon.
Gusting winds in the area pushed the fire, now known as the Tisigar Lake fire and which began as the Blue River fire, to around 900 hectares.
It also crossed Highway 37.
The winds pushed the fire in a northeast direction and this aggressive fire moved at a speed of three kilometres per hour, reports fire information officer Lindsay Carnes."
Helicopters and airtankers worked today to slow the spread of the fire with retardant and water. Because of the aggressive fire behaviour, it was not possible to have fire fighters on the ground working the fire. Currently firefighters are working on setting up structure protection on a ranch in the area
’s outbuildings," Carnes said."Th
e forecast for the area is for high winds tomorrow. It is anticipated that this fire will continue to challenge suppression efforts on Thursday with continued high winds. After Thursday fire suppression efforts are forecasted to be more favourable with cooler temperatures and less wind potentially calming fire behaviour," she added.
If you see smoke or a fire, please report it by calling *5555 on your cell phone, or 1-800-663-5555. For more information on wildfires in British Columbia, please visit our website at firesafebc.ca.