UPDATE: 13:35 All of Hudson’s Hope has been evacuated due to the massive Battleship Mountain fire, displacing 800 residents. Hudson Hope County previously declared a state of local emergency and the Peace River Regional District has upgraded its Evacuation Notice to an Evacuation Order. The City of Fort St. John has established an Emergency Support Services (ESS) center at the North Peace Arena. All residents, even if they have family or friends staying with them, should contact ESS at (250) 794-3310 to confirm they are safe and have evacuated. As of Sunday, there are currently 65 firefighters as well as five night operations officers and 47 construction protection personnel, six of whom work overnight. Sunday will see unit crews working at WAC Bennett Dam and Hudson’s Hope supporting structure protection and implementing the structure defense plan. Where conditions permit, crews may perform hand-lighting operations along Johnson Forest Service Road, Table Creek Forest Service Road, and Utah Forest Service Road. Structure Protection crews will continue to work to build structural protection devices in priority areas today, including Hudson’s Hope and critical infrastructure. Crews are working closely with the Hudson’s Hope Fire Department. Temperatures are expected to rise over the weekend and no measurable precipitation is expected. Increased fire behavior can be expected as temperatures and wind increase. – Dawson Creek Mirror ORIGINAL: 10 a.m The largest fire burning in the province continues to grow rapidly, moving an incredible eight kilometers on Saturday alone. And its recent growth has forced the evacuation of nearby Hudson’s Hope and surrounding areas. The huge Battleship Mountain fire, discovered on August 30, is burning about 24,000 hectares in the north of the province, about 230 kilometers north of Prince George. On Saturday night, the Hudson Hope District and the Peace River Regional District issued evacuation orders for all properties within the area, except for the areas surrounding the area. The municipality has a population of just under 1,000 inhabitants. Evacuees can proceed to a reception center in Fort St. John, about an hour east. “The Battleship Mountain fire is showing consistent rapid growth and continues to exhibit extremely intense fire behavior,” the BCWS posted Saturday night. “The fire has been advanced about eight kilometers today by westerly winds and dry conditions. “Structural protection personnel remain on site and are working quickly to reinforce and install firefighting equipment. BC Wildfire personnel continue to monitor fire behavior overnight and will be ready to respond as needed.” Crews are also working to protect the nearby WAC Bennett Dam. BCWS notes that temperatures are forecast to rise and no precipitation is expected in the near future. “Increased fire behavior can be expected as temperatures rise,” BCWS says. There are currently 65 BCWS firefighters working on the large fire, along with 47 structural protection firefighters. Twelve helicopters are in use, along with 16 pieces of heavy equipment.
