Evacuees concerned over conflicting information on Fort Nelson wildfire

A view of the Parker Lake wildfire near Fort Nelson, B.C. is shown on Monday, May 13, 2024 in a BC Wildfire Service handout photo. (The Canadian Press / HO-BC Wildfire Service)

Evacuees staying in Fort St. John have expressed concern about how little they are hearing about what is happening in their now deserted city. A few dozen residents defied the evacuation order issued Friday, and have been documenting the damage outside of town on social media, leading to conflicting accounts of the situation inside the fire zone.

"We hear so many different rumours, I don’t know what to believe and not to believe," Fort Nelson resident Melanie Sterling told CTV outside the Fort St. John evacuation support centre.

"We’ve just decided to stop checking everything and let it play out. We go home to a home, or if we don’t, then we’ll rebuild and go from there."

The massive Parker Lake wildfire burning west of Fort Nelson has damaged or destroyed multiple homes in the outlying areas surrounding the town. The confirmation comes from the region’s mayor, who spoke to CTV News Wednesday morning.

"This is a very sensitive topic. I can confirm there has been some structural damage in the outlying area of Fort Nelson," said Rob Fraser, who added, “there is no damage at all in the town proper, but out along the stretch of the Alaska Highway in close proximity to where this started, there has been some damage.”

A public information session for Fort Nelson evacuees in Fort St. John has been scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, to try to clear up some of the confusion and provided those who have been displaced for days an update on the firefight.

The Parker Lake fire is 8,433 hectares in size as of Wednesday, according to the BC Wildfire Service. The community of about 4,700 people, as well as the neighbouring First Nation, had only a few hours to get out.

In addition to more than 2,000 people staying in the Fort St. John area, others have found lodging in nearby Dawson Creek and Chetwynd, as well as Prince George, further to the south.