It was a day of little change for crews battling wildfires in the Prince George region on Tuesday.
The lightning that swept through the region over Monday night was not enough to overcome the accompanying downpour as new fires in this part of B.C. were limited to a small blaze at Baker Creek west of Quesnel.
One of the two small fires at Shesta Lake southwest of Prince George was completedly extinguished and is no longer on the B.C. Wildfire Service's list of active fires while the other was deemed under control.
The Grizzly Lake fire, one of three wildfires of note southwest of Prince George, remained listed as out of control at 4,620 hectares but no significant growth was recorded.
The Cutoff Creek fire, the largest in the Prince George Fire Centre, held steady at 21,500 ha and remains listed as active while the 8,000-ha Purdy Lake fire to the south in the Cariboo Fire Centre was also listed as active but unchanged.
A series of evacuation orders, alerts and area restrictions remain in place for the region.
North of Fort St. James, the Mount Porter wildfire remained listed at out of control at 14,932 ha and an evacuation order encompassing Wolverine Lakes, Manson Lakes and the Omineca Mining Access Road remained in place.
To the south, the Klawli Lake wildfire fire stood at 6,231 ha and was also listed as out of control but posed no threat to private property. South of Stuart Lake, the Camsell Lake fire held steady at 300 ha with an evacuation alert for the surrounding area remaining in effect.
West of Burns Lake, the Bulkley Lake fire was listed as under control and no longer a fire of note and a cluster of small fires along Highway 16 east of Ancient Forest-Chun T'oh Whudujut Provincial Park remained on the BCWS map of active fires.
South of Tumbler Ridge, the Tentfire Creek fire was listed as being held at 2,400 ha.
Environment Canada is forecasting more showers with a chance of thunderstorms tonight and through to Friday, then starting up again on Saturday and Sunday and with daytime highs hovering in the 20 C range and lows around 10 C.
On Tuesday, Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth declared a state of emergency in conjunction with Emergency Management B.C.
Prince George Fire Centre spokesperson Sharon Nickel said it is not yet known how the step will affect operations in this region of the province.
