Crews hope to have the Dog Creek Trail wildfire completely surrounded with a fireguard by the end of the day Saturday.
First discovered on Tuesday, the lightning-caused fire about 30 kilometres northwest of Vanderhoof has grown significantly. It was listed at 314 hectares as of Friday but is actually much larger, B.C. Wildfire Service information officer Heather Rice said.
"Late yesterday afternoon and last night we had some gusty winds so we did see some fairly-good growth on the northeasterly end of the fire, increasing the fire by at least 100 hectares," she said.
Cooler temperatures and rain overnight have helped stem its progress.
"The fire itself did not get the same amount of rain as Vanderhoof itself and the areas around Vanderhoof, but it did get some and it's currently receiving some rain," Rice said Friday afternoon.
"That certainly helps our efforts and allows us to work closer to the fire edges and help us put a guard all the way around the fire."
In all, 51 firefighters were on the scene Friday, supported by three pieces of heavy equipment and six helicopters.
"The full south half of the fire has been guarded and we just need to tie it off on the northeasterly side," Rice said.
Both a smoky skies bulletin and an evacuation alert remain in place as a result of the fire.
The evacuation alert stretches east from Dog Creek Forest Service Road to Geernaert Road and south from the Barlow Forest Service Road to the Nechako River, Westwood Road and Braeside Road.
A smoky skies bulletin is also in place for Valemount, McBride and all communities within the southern half of the Robson Valley where the West Cranberry Creek fire near Valemount held steady at 45 hectares thanks to 10 millimetres of rain over Thursday night.
"They haven't given us an official containment number but they have machine guard around 90 per cent of the fire and then they just have that tied into some natural features like rocky boundaries," BCWFS information officer Forrest Tower said.
