B.C. crews battle wildfire in park with 1,000-year-old trees

British Columbia's wildfire service says crews are battling a 10-hectare blaze in a park that protects a portion of a rare inland temperate rainforest containing trees up to around 1,000 years old.

The Ancient Forest or Chun T'oh Whudujut Park, about 115 kilometres east of Prince George in the traditional territory of the Lheidli T'enneh First Nation, covers an area of over 110 square kilometres, including almost seven square kilometres of protected land, according to B.C. Parks.

It is recognized as just one of a handful of such forests worldwide, with researchers saying the only others are in Russia.

The B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) saying it's responding to multiple fires in the park, with the largest spanning 10 hectares.

The BCWS said in a statement on social media that initial attack crews are at the scene and a helipad and water relay system have been established. 

But it says the park's terrain, ecological and cultural values have challenged suppression efforts.

The park land is closely tied to Lheidli T'enneh cultural practices and traditions, such as gathering medicinal plants, according to the First Nation.

The park includes a 450-metre-long universal access boardwalk and another 2.3 kilometres of boardwalk that provides viewing access to ancient trees and a waterfall.

The fire is one of about 150 across the province, a figure that's holding steady from Thursday following an eruption of wildfire activity this week.

A provincial situation report says temperatures are beginning to moderate across the north after a heat wave that left forest fuels susceptible to new starts.

Still, the BCWS says southern B.C. remains hot and dry, and there's a risk of thunderstorms on Vancouver Island, the South Coast and in the Interior.

Environment Canada is maintaining heat warnings for parts of the southern Interior, from the Fraser Canyon to Kelowna, Nelson to Cranbrook in the southeast.