Officials are hoping rain in the forecast will help them bring a wildfire under control that’s burning dangerously close to Fort Nelson.
But weather experts warn most of that rain will likely fall to the south of the community.
The fire threatening the town is now only about 1.5-kilometres away.
The evacuation order for the area has been expanded, with about 47-hundred people now ordered from their homes.
Another larger fire is burning about 25 kilometres north of Fort Nelson.
Officials say it’s not currently a threat to the town but add things could change if the wind switches to the north.
Elsewhere in Alberta, there is fear the wind will continue pushing a large wildfire towards Fort McMurray.
Four southern suburbs have been evacuated as the flames move closer.
Representatives of Alberta Wildfire say they’re seeing signs of “extreme fire behaviour,” with heavy smoke.
They’ve had to pull fire crews from the front lines and are now battling the blaze with helicopters and flying tanker aircraft.
In 2016, a wildfire swept through the area, forcing the evacuation of almost 90-thousand people and destroying 24-hundred homes and businesses in the city.
– with files from Vista Radio newswire
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