Two wildfires burning in B.C.;s southern Interior temporarily closed Highway 3 between Christina Lake and Grand Forks Tuesday afternoon.
The fires are not threatening any structures or communities, but are highly visible from the highway, which remains on single-lane alternating traffic.
Airtankers, a helicopter, and seven B.C. Wildfire Service personnel are working with Grand Forks Fire and Rescue on a 20-hectare wildfire in the Gilpin area, east of Grand Forks.
A smaller, two-hectare fire is burning south of Christina Lake and being handled by the local fire department.
Last summer, Christina Lake was put under evacuation alert and warned of “ember showers” from the massive Stickpin wildfire in Washington State.
Further west on Highway 3, an aggressive wildfire near Rock Creeklast year forced evacuations of 208 homes, and closed the highway in both directions for several days, severing a key east-west artery in the southern Interior.