2 hospitalized, buildings destroyed in northwest B.C. grass fire [Video]

Two people were hospitalized and several homes and vehicles destroyed in a fast-moving fire that started in the Gitxsan community of Gitwangak in northwest B.C. on Monday.

Local leaders say the damage serves as an early warning of the “bone-dry” conditions facing much of the province, putting communities on alert for the possibility of another devastating wildfire season.

“There was vehicles exploding,” said Donald Bolton, a Gitwangak member and one of the people called in to respond to the fire.

WATCH | Footage of flames spreading from building to building: A fast-moving fire damaged several buildings in the Gitxsan community of Gitwangak in northwest B.C. on April 21, 2024. Jacob Beaton captured footage of the flames spreading from building to building.

According to a postfrom the office of the Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs, who neighbour Gitwangak, “a grass fire fuelled by bone-dry conditions and heavy winds spiralled out of control within minutes,” on Monday, with members of the Gitanyow, Gitwangak and Gitsegukla …