B.C. wildfires near Fort St. John spark evacuations

About 1,000 people have been ordered to leave their homes in northeastern B.C., as one of the province's biggest wildfires forced a new evacuation order and a dramaticexpansion of an evacuation alert zone.

As the Beatton Airport Roadfire grew to 12,000 hectares, 500 people were told to leave their rural homes immediately.

Another 500 people in the nearbyBlueberry River First Nation are also leaving.

Meanwhile, the evacuation alert zone has expanded dramatically.

About 5,000 people living along a40-kilometre stretch of the Alaska Highway are being told to be ready to leave at a moment's notice.

On Friday afternoon, the expanded evacuation alert zone stretchedfrom Mile 85 of the Alaska Highway all the way down through Charlie Lake tojust north of Fort St John.

An emergency reception centre has been set up in Fort St John.

"We've got some pretty active fires going right now," said Shannon Anderson, emergency operations centre director for the Peace River Regional District. "It's something we haven't seen in our area for quite some time."

On Thursday, the fire was about 45 kilometres north of Fort St. John,at Mile 80 on the Alaska Highway.

On Friday, the fire jumpedthe Alaska Highway and continued to grow.

A travel advisoryfor the Alaska Highway remains in effect anda smoke advisory has been issued for the North Peace.

Siphon Creek evacuation

A newevacuation order wasalso issued Fridayfor 11 homes in Siphon Creek, about 90 kilometres northeast of Fort St. John. An evacuation alert was also expanded.

The SiphonCreek fire now coversabout17,000hectares.

On Thursday it hadcovered 9,000 hectares and was set to cross into Alberta.

This fire is nowthe largest in the province.

State of emergency

As of Friday, there are 36active fires burning in northern B.C., most of them in the Peace River Regional District.

B.C.'sPeace River Regional Districthas declared a state of emergency because of the aggressivewildfires.