Wildfire burns in northwestern B.C. day after fire ban introduced

A wildfirethat startedshortlyafter a fire ban went into effect in northern B.C. over the weekend continues to burn on Monday.

Officials needed a helicopter and multiple crewsto bring a grass fire under control near the village ofKitwanga, about 90 kilometres northeast of Terrace,on Saturday. The fire led to a brief closure of Highway 37.

Kitwangaresident Jacob Beaton spotted the fire and captured drone footage before emergency crews responded.

"It was shockingly large and right in the middle of our community," he said.

WATCH: How do you fireproof British Columbia?

How do you fireproof British Columbia?

2 years ago

Duration 8:30

With wildfire activity expected to worsen in B.C. in coming years, what is being done to fireproof cities, towns and homes?

Beaton saidit's been weeks since he's seen any precipitation on his farm.

"Our last three springs here have just been ridiculously dry, we haven't had precipitation now in weeks, which is really unusual," he said. "Our climate is just upside down right now. Our last three falls have been record-setting wet seasons and then our springs have been record-setting dry seasons."

The 16-hectareblazeis being held, with five firefighters patrolling the blaze and doing mop-up work,according to the Northwest Fire Centre.

The fire is believed to be human-caused.

A ban on Category 2 and 3 open fires went into effect in the Northwest Fire Centreon Friday due tohigh winds, dry vegetation and low precipitation, according toNorthwest Fire Centre spokesperson Carolyn Bartos.

Bartos said weather forecasts suggest the region could receive some precipitation next week.

Last year's wildfire season in B.C. was the third worst on record in terms of area burned.The season peaked much earlier than usual,with drought conditionsand a series ofpunishing heat wavesleading to widespread fire activity,including a blazethat levelledthe village of Lyttonon June 30 and left two dead.