Fire evacuees in B.C. allowed to return home, evacuation alert remains in effect

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. – More than a dozen residents in northeastern British Columbia are being told they can return home after an encroaching wildfire forced them to pack up and leave earlier this week.

Still, an evacuation alert remains in place for a pair of regions northeast and northwest of Fort St. John, where fire crews continue to battle two blazes.

The Peace River Regional District says residents near the Siphon Creek fire and the Beatton Airport Road fire should must be ready to leave at a moment's notice.

The Siphon Creek fire has more than doubled in size since Friday to 414 square kilometres and remains entirely uncontained.

Nearly 30 per cent of the fire is now burning in Alberta after it crossed the border late Thursday.

The Beatton Airport Road blaze is located about 45 kilometres north of Fort St. John and measures about 150 square kilometres.