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Officials say Manning Park wildfire has potential for aggressive growth

Crews keep close watch on blaze near US border, as another delays school in northeast
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Wildfire officials in British Columbia say they are working with BC Parks and the Transportation Ministry to prepare for the spread of a blaze that has already charred 19 square kilometres of bush in Manning provincial park, as shown in this recent handout image provide by the BC Wildfire Service. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-BC Wildfire Service

Wildfire officials in British Columbia say they are working with BC Parks and the Transportation Ministry to prepare for the spread of a blaze that has charred 19 square kilometres of bush in a provincial park southeast of Hope.

The lightning-caused fire is burning south of Highway 3 in E.C. Manning Park, about midway between Hope and Princeton, roughly five kilometres from the Manning Park Resort.

It’s not immediately threatening the resort, Highway 3 or other infrastructure, but the BC Wildfire Service says the blaze has had the potential to grow aggressively since it spread into Canada last week from Washington state.

Several trails in Manning Park are under evacuation order and the blaze is one of three currently listed as a fire of note in the province.

Meanwhile, in northeastern B.C., a 119-square-kilometre fire west of Hudson’s Hope has prompted evacuation orders and alerts that have also forced the local school district to delay the start of elementary school classes until next week unless conditions improve.

The lightning-caused fire broke out Aug. 30, one day before lighting sparked another fire southeast of Tumbler Ridge, and both out-of-control blazes have been fuelled by heat and high winds.

RELATED: Manning Park under evacuation alert due to Heather Lake wildfire