FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Hundreds of firefighters are taking advantage of a weather break to prepare for a potential worsening of conditions near the wildfire-threatened city of Fort St. John in northeastern British Columbia, as the community of 21,000 remains on evacuation alert. Hannah Swift, an information officer with the BC Wildfire Service, said 400 fire personnel, 22 pieces of heavy equipment and 22 helicopters were in the vicinity of four blazes close to the city. “We have more resources arriving by the hour,” she told a news briefing. She said a break in the weather, in which winds dropped and shifted direction, had been “a bit of a reprieve” for Fort St. John and crews had used the opportunity to reassess and position themselves ahead of a warm front. …The BC Wildfire Services said parts of British Columbia are already in the midst of their “core fire season,” months ahead of schedule.

Additional coverage in CBC News: Fort St. John residents watch and wait as wildfires burn near city