1,800 hectare wildfire in BC Interior considered 'held'

A large wildfire that prompted evacuation orders and alerts in BC’s CAriboo region is now considered as “being held.”

On Monday, the BC Wildfire Service said that Burgess Creek wildfire, which is burning south of Quesnel, has been held at 1,800 hectares.

The fire sparked on April 20 and grew to 1,600 hectares by April 21.

Evacuation alerts followed shortly after but were lifted on April 23 for a few properties in the unincorporated community of Endako.

The suspected human-caused wildfire is “not likely to spread beyond predetermined boundaries under current conditions,” says the BCWS.

On Monday, there were over 120 firefighters responding to the fire.

Provincial wildfire situation

As of April 30, there are 110 active wildfires with zero new starts in the past 24 hours and six wildfires declared as “out” in the same time period.

The majority of those fires (103) are considered as being under control, four are being held and only three remain as out of control.

Since the beginning of April, which is the start of the 2024 wildfire season, BC has seen 183 wildfires and 2,307 hectares burnt.

The majority of that land (1,853 hectares) is located in the Cariboo.