Wildfire activity has caused the closure of Highway 5 between Hope and Merritt on Wednesday afternoon.

According to a social media post from DriveBC, as of 6 p.m. there is no estimated time of reopening.

Drivers are being asked to reroute using either Highway 3 or Highway 8, although commercial vehicles cannot use Highway 8.

There are about 150 active wildfires across B.C., with close to 60 classified as burning out of control.

One of them, the nearly five-square-kilometre Mine Creek blaze, is the one that has forced the closure of the Coquihalla Highway between Hope and Merritt.

The blaze was displaying Rank 5 behaviour on a six-level scale, meaning “extremely vigorous surface fire or active crown fire,” the service said Wednesday, adding five helicopters were involved in responding

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