Fire season is already blazing in British Columbia as the Peace River Regional District deals with almost 50 fires.

On Monday night, the district declared a State of Local Emergency because of wildfires causing danger to local properties and residents.  

Photo Credit: Emergency Info BC.

The State of Emergency was ordered by the Vice Chair of the Board, Brad Sperling, on April 18 and will stay in effect for a week, until April 25.

Multiple evacuation orders and alerts have been put out for areas around Fort St. John including Charlie Lake, South Taylor Hill and most recently, Hudson’s Hope.

The City of Fort St. John has confirmed that at least three structures have been destroyed. 

Photo Credit: Darcy Shawchek on Facebook.The view of Fort St. John Monday night.

Highway 29 was also closed in both directions from the Alaska Highway turnoff.

Residents under evacuation are asked to leave the area immediately and close all windows and doors. They are urged to shut off all gas and electrical appliances, other than refrigerators and freezers.

Updates can be found at the Peace River Regional District website, as well as the Fort St. John Facebook page and Twitter feed.

For the latest on current wildfire activity, visit the BC Wildfire website.

As of April 18, 48 fires were reported in the Peace River Regional District.