Wildfire burning near Hell's Gate, B.C., grows to 40 hectares
B.C.'s wildfire season is off to an early start with 22 active wildfires burning on Friday, 10 of which were started in the last 24 hours.
Among them is the Ferrabee Wildfire, burning about 2.5 kilometres southeast of Hell's Gate, which has grown to 40 hectares in size since it was first spotted around noon on Thursday.
The out-of-control fire is burning upslope from Highway 1 in steep terrain and is highly visible to traffic.
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The Ferrabee Wildfire, burning about 2.5 kilometres southeast of Hell's Gate, is seen on Thursday, April 23. (B.C. Wildfire Service)
It is believed to be human-caused, the designation given to any fire not started by lightning.
While DriveBC has not reported any impacts to travel, the B.C. Wildfire Service said the highway may be interrupted by crews battling the fire.
Wildfire officials said they were responding with initial attack crews, response officers, bucketing helicopters and heavy equipment. There was no immediate threat to structures or public safety, they said.
On Thursday, the Coastal Fire Centre issued an advisory for the region, warning residents of southwest B.C. to be cautious if they were using an open flame this weekend due to weather conditions.
"Developing this evening and into the weekend, the coast will experience an early spring outflow pattern and light to moderate winds, which are expected to lower relative humidity significantly," the advisory states.
"While there are no open fire prohibitions within the Coastal Fire Centre’s jurisdiction at this time, we strongly suggest caution with any open fire during this period of elevated risk."
To the north, First Nations and regional government have issued an evacuation alert affecting 10 properties due to a large wildfire burning in the Cariboo region.
The Konni Lake wildfire is burning out of control about 180 kilometres west of 100 Mile House, and has grown to 252 hectares in size since it was discovered on Thursday.
That fire is also believed to have been started by human activity.
Since the start of the year, officials say there have been 68 wildfires in B.C., which have burned about 15.5 square kilometres.
Sixty-two of them are believed to have been human-caused.
This article, written by Simon Little, was originally published for CBC News.