Aggressive wildfire closes Alaska Highway in B.C.'s far north
The Summit Lake wildfire west of Fort Nelson, B.C., closed the Alaska Highway (Highway 97) in the province's far north Monday afternoon.
DriveBC first posted about the highway closure just before 10:30 a.m. PT on Monday, with no detour available on the critical route leading west from Fort Nelson, located around 1,050 kilometres northeast of Vancouver.
The B.C. Wildfire Service said in a Monday update that the wildfire was "displaying aggressive fire behaviour" and growing towards the highway.
"Due to ongoing drought conditions, dry weather and strong winds, this wildfire experienced significant overnight growth on June 1 into June 2," the service said in its update.
The Summit River blaze currently covers an area of 21.25 square kilometres, and is classified as a "wildfire of note" — which means it is particularly visible or poses a threat to public safety.
It is suspected to have been caused by human activity, a broad category of blazes that refers to any fire not started by lightning.
The next update on the Alaska Highway closure is expected at 8 a.m. local time on Tuesday.
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