School on northern B.C. First Nation ‘engulfed in flames’

The Blueberry River School on Blueberry River First Nation, B.C. burns in this early morning Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026 handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - Joshua Paquette

A school located within a First Nation in northeastern B.C. was destroyed in a fire early Saturday morning.

The Fort St. John RCMP says officers were sent to the Blueberry River First Nation around 6:30 a.m., and when crews arrived on scene the school was “fully engulfed in flames.”

There have been no reported injuries.

In a statement, the First Nation’s council said the fire at Blueberry Community School is a “tremendous loss for the community” and vowed to rebuild as soon as possible.

BFRN said the building did not just house a school and had been used for community gatherings, funerals and cultural events for more than 30 years.

“The fire started quickly and engulfed the entire building, and unfortunately, the community’s firefighting capacity is insufficient to fight any fire of size due to the reservoir capacity,” the council wrote.

The First Nation said it has “no agreement” with the City of Fort St. John for firefighting service because of the distance.

“We would like to thank the RCMP for their quick response and help. Council would also like to thank all the community members who reacted quickly to keep the fire from spreading and to save nearby assets, but, due to the lack of water, the building could not be saved,” the statement continues.

The leadership said it would not speculate on what caused the fire and await the results of an investigation.

“While there is no indication that the fire was suspicious, its cause remains under investigation,” Mounties wrote in a news release, asking anyone with information to call the detachment at 250-787-8140.

The Blueberry River First Nation is located about 80 kilometres northwest of the City of Fort St. John and has 546 registered members.