The Peace River Regional District has declared a local state of emergency in an area North of Fort St. John threatened by out of control wildfires.

The regional board declared the state of emergency around 6 p.m. May 5. It includes all of Electoral Area B, the massive rural area north of Fort St. John.

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A state of local emergency allows the district to order evacuations, enter private property threatened by wildfires and restrict movement through certain areas.

The Alaska Highway was closed earlier in the day near Mile 73 due to two fires in the area, one of which reportedly jumped the road Thursday. The Beatton Airport road fire is currently one of the largest in the province at over 9,000 hectares. There are a number of active evacuation alerts in the area.

A state of local emergency cleared the way for a series of evacuation orders issued the week of April 18. High winds that week stoked a number of wildfires, all of which were human-caused.

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