A wildfire in northeastern British Columbia has led to intermittent closures on the Alaska Highway since it started burning last week.
The 70-mile stretch of highway west of Ft. Nelson had reopened to single-lane traffic as of Wednesday afternoon, but the BC Wildfire Service says circumstances could change quickly depending on how the Summit Lake Wildfire behaves.
Cell service is limited in much of the burn area. The wildfire service urges travellers to prepare for delays and consider downloading the BC Wildfire app for updates on conditions.
The fire has torched over 6,000 acres in the Northern Rockies since it started on May 28, and it’s nowhere close to being contained, according to the fire service.
Forty-seven firefighters are on the scene with helicopter support. The wildfire service suspects that lightning ignited the fire, which has spread quickly due to a multi-year drought. There are multiple other fires in the area, and the wildfire service expects to see them spread farther as windy weather moves in later this week.