Highway 16 between Topley and Burns Lake reopened on Saturday morning after Mother Nature gave fire crews battling the China Nose wildfire a break Friday night.
Fire information officer Mike McCulley said a cold front had been predicted to bring powerful southwesterly winds to the area between Houston and Burns Lake - blowing the flames toward inhabited areas along the Highway 16 corridor.
"The wind did not materialize as we were thinking. The outlook is for continued dry weather. [And the predicted direction of the wind is more favourable," McCulley said. "Having said that, this is a still a very large, active fire. We're asking the public to stay attuned to this fire."
If conditions change, the highway may be closed again on short notice, he added.
The fire, located approximately 15 kilometres southeast of Houston, was an estimated 3,700 hectares in size. Currently 135 fire fighters, 15 helicopters, 36 pieces of heavy equipment and air tankers based in Smithers are battling the blaze, "and more are arriving all the time," McCulley said.
"We do have 20 per cent containment on this fire, as of this morning," he said. "It's a top priority in the province. There will be lots of aircraft coming and going. [But] aircraft don't put out fires, ground crews put out fires."
As of this morning, no structures were believed to have burned down in the China Nose blaze, he added.
On Saturday morning the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako lifted the evacuation order for some of the approximately 245 residents who were ordered to evacuate on Friday.
Some residents on the north side of Highway 16 near Conrad, Old Woman and Broman lakes were allowed to return to their homes -but remain on evacuation alert.
A spokesperson for the regional district wasn't available for comment as of press time. It was unclear Saturday how many of the approximately 60 households under evacuation orders on Friday were able to return to their homes.
The China Nose wildfire is believed to have been caused by lightning and was first reported on Monday.
