B.C.'s biggest major wildfire doubles in size, but nearby highway reopens to traffic

The BC Wildfire Service is reporting that the largest of the province's major fires in the northeast has more than doubled in size in the past 24 hours.

The Pocket Knife Creek blaze, which is the result of two fires merging over the weekend, now measures nearly 1,300 square kilometres.

It's believed to have been caused by lightning and has triggered an evacuation order and alert from the Peace River Regional District.

The wildfire also resulted in the closure of Highway 97 on Sunday, but the service says in an update that the road had reopened as of 10 p.m. Monday.

It says there are nearly 90 wildfires actively burning across B.C., most situated in the northeast where there are three so-called wildfires of note.

The service says more than half the province's fires are currently classified as burning out of control, including the Dryden Creek wildfire that prompted the District of Squamish to issue an evacuation alert for 16 properties in the Brackendale area.

It says crews, equipped with two helicopters and an air tanker, are working alongside the Squamish Fire Department to battle the blaze.

The service says it is currently five hectares in size.

The wildfire service says more than three-quarters of the active fires in B.C. are believed to have been caused by lightning, with 22 per cent caused by human activity.

Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, B.C. Wildfire Service