There was chaos at the gas pumps in Smithers on Friday afternoon.
People were worried about loosing power or water to the wild fire activity but according to a spokesperson with BC Hydro, there are no planned power or imminent outages for the Hazeltons, Smithers, Terrace or Telkwa. If the China Nose Wildlife happens to affect some transmission lines south of Hwy 16, backup power sources should kick in and residents should not be without power.
However, keep in mind that Highway 16 is still closed in both directions east of Topley and 120 homes near the China Nose Wildfire have been evacuated as well 574 are on alert.
The town of Smithers issued a release as well on Friday afternoon addressing residents' concerns. They say the forest fire has not grown and the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure is trying to re-open the highway as soon as it is safe to do so.
The town also said there could be an impact on the Telus “fibre optic line”; if so, there will be a complete loss of data, cell and internet services west of Burns Lake. Telus will maintain land lines and 911 service.