The first forest fire evacuees of this summer are now in the city.
City spokesperson Mike Kellett said 59 evacuees arrived in Prince George Wednesday morning and are being lodged at local hotels after an evacuation order was issued Tuesday night for people living in the vicinity of the Camsell Lake wildfire west of Fort St. James.
Kellett said the City has activated its emergency operations centre while staff is keeping in touch with Emergency Management BC and is "prepared to provide evacuees with emergency supports as needed."
The order covers the southern portion of Stuart Lake from Camsell Lake FSR to the northern point of Stuart Lake including a portion of Rubyrock Lake Provincial Park south to Babine Lake including Cunningham Lake, Camsell Lake, and Whitefish Lake, including a portion of Sutherland River Park.
It was issued jointly by the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako, Yekooche First Nation and BC Parks Tuesday night.
The lightning-caused wildfire, first discovered on Saturday, measured 189 hectares and was listed as out of control, according to an update posted midday on the B.C. Wildfire Service website.
Meanwhile, heavy smoke began to cover Prince George by mid-afternoon.
"Winds associated with the Alaska low moving inland are pushing smoke from larger fires in the west across the PGFC towards the Alberta border," the BC Wildfire Service said on social media.
A smoky sky bulletin is in place for Prince George and region while FireSmoke.ca is showing most of Western Canada covered in smoke from wildfires.
