Crews in B.C. town prepare a 'last stand'

Shifting winds could push blaze into community

- CHUCK CHIANG

Rob Fraser did not sugarcoat the situation facing Fort Nelson, B.C., as forecasts called for westerly winds to pick up in northeastern British Columbia late Sunday and turn a menacing nearby wildfire into a dire threat.

Fraser, mayor of the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality based in Fort Nelson, said fire crews and emergency workers were preparing a “last stand” for the possibility that strong winds will push the nearby Parker Lake wildfire directly into the town itself.

“Now that’s the exact worst-case scenario,” Fraser said of the winds, which were expected to increase to 20 km/h before potentially producing gusts of up to 50 km/h by Monday.

“The fire is two to three kilometres away, and if we get winds from the west anything like we did on Friday — the day that this fire sparked up — it’s going to be extremely difficult to keep it from moving into the community.”